Following the CAF Cup Draw in Uganda, Egypt teammates exchange blows
After Saturday’s CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round first leg at BUL FC of Uganda ended in a 0-0 draw, two Future FC teammates from Egypt engaged in physical altercation.
Eyewitnesses told AFP that as the African club season began, veteran goalkeeper Mahmoud ‘Genish’ Abdel Rahim and midfielder Ahmed Refaat had to be separated by other squad members.
It was not immediately clear what had ‘Genish’ and Refaat so angry, but they sparred nonstop throughout the second half.
Aside from the verbal scuffles, Abdel Rahim was kept busy and made a number of outstanding saves as BUL tried to increase the aggregate advantage before the follow-up game in Egypt the following weekend.
However, the home squad was unable to breach the visitors’ defense, making Future the favorites to win the second leg and go to a round of 32 match against either Kallon FC of Sierra Leone or Buffles Borgou of Benin.
In the African version of the UEFA Europa League, BUL and Future are making their debuts. 16 clubs advance to the group round, where the prize money begins, after three qualifying rounds.
While Ugandan clubs haven’t had much of an influence in the Confederation Cup, Al Ahly and Zamalek, two Egyptian powerhouses, have taken home the trophy.
This season, Future and Pyramids will represent Egypt in the Confederations Cup because Ahly and Zamalek are playing in the more lucrative and esteemed CAF Champions League.
On Saturday, only seven goals were scored in five matches, five first legs, and BUL and Future were two of the five teams without a goal.
The most goal-filled game took place in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, where African debutants AS Sante Abeche of the Chad fell to Ferroviario Beira of Mozambigue 2-1.
Because Chad does not have a stadium that meets international standards, Abeche was obliged to have their home game in the neighboring nation in central Africa.
Another Cameroonian first leg saw local team PWD Bamenda hold a lead against Elgeco Plus of Madagascar for the majority of the game before giving up a late goal and having to settle for a 1-1 draw.
AFP
