ES Tunis 1 Wydad Casablanca 0 (2-1 agg): Hosts defend title after farcical final

ES Tunis were crowned CAF Champions League winners for the second straight year after a farcical return leg against Wydad Casablanca was cut short.

Leading 1-0 in the second leg at home in Rades on Friday, ES Tunis claimed a 2-1 aggregate win in a game which saw play stopped just after the hour-mark.

Youcef Belaili had scored the only goal of the game in the 41st minute before the chaotic scenes after the break.

Walid El Karti appeared to head in an equaliser for Wydad Casablanca in the 59th minute, but it was wrongly ruled out for offside.

 We are THE CHAMPIONS  We are AFRICA 
 We are TARAJI DAWLA #TotalCAFCLChampion #TotalCAFCLFinal #ESTWAC pic.twitter.com/6sMNSOiM03

— Espérance de Tunis  (@ESTuniscom) May 31, 2019

But a reported VAR technical fault meant the decision could not be overturned, leading to protests from the Moroccan visitors.

After arguments on the sideline, the game was stopped for more than an hour as the teams stood around and waited.

Eventually, the referee whistled for full-time, handing ES Tunis their fourth title and sparking wild celebrations.

#TotalCAFCLFinal 2nd leg #ESTWAC | @ESTuniscom – @WACofficiel : Le Wydad AC refuse de reprendre le match. L’arbitre déclare l’Espérance de Tunis champion d’Afrique 2018/2019 ! Mabrouk !!!

— Espérance de Tunis  (@ESTuniscom) May 31, 2019