CAF fines Mazembe

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) disciplinary committee has fined DR Congo giants TP Mazembe $5 000 (approximately R50 000) for the incident that took place at Orlando Stadium on 20 April, in which the referee on the day was assaulted. Orlando Pirates won the ill-tempered group stage first leg CAF Champions League encounter 3-1.
Adjudicating over the case, the CAF DC said a Congolese resident in South Africa approached and assaulted the referee soon after the match and hid in the travelling side’s dressing room.

Although the incident was not captured by television, the episode was witnessed by a number of officials who corroborated seeing the match official being physically assaulted after the match.

According to the CAF DC, the perpetrator was identified as a “Congolese resident in SA” and after the incident, took refuge in the Mazembe dressing room.

As a result, CAF came down heavily on the visiting club and imposed a hefty $5 000 fine.
The second leg of the match between Pirates and Mazembe in Lubumbashi was characterised by more problems which included the home team refusing the game to be transmitted live. There were also reports of ill treatment for the travelling team and its entourage.

Pirates lost the game 1-0 but advanced to the lucrative round robin stage 3-2 on aggregate. — Sport24