Raja Casablanca and Entente Sétif Share the Spoils in Thrilling CAF Champions League Tie
Raja Casablanca and Entente Sétif played out an intense and highly anticipated CAF Champions League round of 16 clash on Sunday, with the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca packed with 70,000 spectators. The highly charged encounter, which lived up to its Maghreb derby billing, ended in a 2-2 draw, leaving the door open for both teams to progress to the group stage.
Despite taking the lead twice in the match, Entente Sétif were pegged back by a resilient Raja Casablanca, whose fans were vocal in their support throughout the game. The Algerian club, the reigning CAF Champions League holders, will take some positives from the result, but Sétif’s coach, Kheireddine Madoui, was visibly frustrated with the officiating.
In his post-match comments, Madoui didn’t hold back his criticism of the referee, suggesting that the poor decisions on the field were a significant factor in the match. “We played not only against Raja, but also against the referee and everything else,” Madoui said. “With refereeing like that, we could have easily lost by five or six goals. It’s incredible, we will never be able to progress in Africa with refereeing like that. All the efforts of my players were wiped out. It wasn’t even possible to win the ball back or play duels.”
Despite the referee’s controversial decisions, Sétif remains in a strong position, with the tie still delicately poised ahead of the return leg. Both teams now look ahead to the next round, knowing that the journey to the group stage is still very much alive.
