DC Virunga challenge CAF decision over Bazar Brothers tie

Congolese club DC Virunga and the Congolese Football Association (FECOFA) have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after the governing body decided to reschedule their continental tie against Bazar Brothers as a single match.

DC Virunga were due to face the Seychelles club over two legs, with the first meeting scheduled to take place in Lubumbashi on 6 September.

However, Bazar Brothers did not travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the match, leaving the fixture unplayed.

FECOFA says it has not received a satisfactory explanation from either Bazar Brothers or CAF for the Seychelles side’s failure to travel.

The Congolese association says its officials and CAF-appointed match officials were already in place in Lubumbashi and that DC Virunga had also covered the expenses associated with the match officials.

FECOFA therefore expected DC Virunga to be awarded a walkover, which would have seen the Congolese club progress to the next round of the competition.

Instead, CAF decided that the remaining fixture between the two clubs would be played as a single match.

That decision has angered both DC Virunga and FECOFA, who believe the ruling is unfair and inconsistent with CAF’s competition regulations.

FECOFA has called on CAF to explain the reasoning behind the decision, particularly because the rescheduled match is reportedly set to take place in the same city and stadium where the abandoned first leg was originally due to be played.

The association argues that DC Virunga should not be required to play a single decisive match after their opponents failed to fulfil the original fixture.

DC Virunga have also decided to challenge CAF’s ruling rather than accept the decision.

The dispute now puts the focus on CAF’s handling of the tie and the regulations governing teams that fail to travel for scheduled matches.

For DC Virunga and FECOFA, the issue is not simply about the rearrangement of a fixture but whether the club should have been awarded qualification after Bazar Brothers failed to appear for the first leg.

CAF’s decision means the Congolese side must now prepare for a winner-takes-all encounter, while continuing to seek clarification over why the original fixture did not result in a walkover.