CAF Confederation Cup: Kitara FC vice president slams officiating after Al Ahly first leg defeat  

Kitara FC vice president Bernard Kanyuru has questioned the refereeing decisions in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Al Ahly in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup Round of 32 tie, raising concerns ahead of Sunday’s return encounter in Cairo.

The astute football administrator believes his team were denied a better result in the opening match, pointing to Al Ahly’s opening goal and the penalty that produced Ahmed Sayed Zizo’s winner as decisions that went against Kitara.

In an interview, Kanyuru insisted that the circumstances surrounding the first-leg defeat had left the club dissatisfied with the officiating.

“We believed we deserved a better result in the first leg, because Al Ahly’s first goal came from a clear offside position for us, which we believe affected the course of the match,” he told Yalla Kora.

Kanyuru also questioned the penalty awarded to the Egyptian giants, from which Zizo scored the decisive goal to give Al Ahly a narrow advantage heading into the return fixture.

“I do not see that the penalty kick that was awarded to Al-Ahly was correct, and that is why we feel that the refereeing decisions were not in our favor during the match,” he added.

The Kitara vice president admitted that the controversial decisions had raised concerns within the club about the possibility of similar incidents occurring in the second leg. However, he acknowledged that the referee would ultimately be responsible for making the decisions on the pitch.

“What happened in the first leg makes us worried about a repeat of the same situation, but the referee is responsible for the decisions he makes on the field, and in the end, his word must be decisive,” Kanyuru stated.

Despite his concerns over the officiating, the Ugandan official insisted that Kitara would approach Sunday’s encounter with determination, even though they face a difficult task against the Egyptian heavyweights on their home ground.

“We know that facing Al-Ahly in Egypt will be difficult, and the chances of losing may be greater, but we will do everything we can, and we will fight until the end in order to present a strong match against Al-Ahly and its fans,” he said.

Al Ahly recovered from a first-half deficit in the opening encounter, with Omar El-Saiy restoring parity before Zizo converted a penalty won by Akram Tawfik to secure a 2-1 victory.

The Egyptian side will head into Sunday’s return leg at Cairo International Stadium with a one-goal advantage, knowing that a positive result will secure their progression to the next round of the competition.

Kitara, meanwhile, must produce an improved performance in Egypt to overturn the deficit and keep their continental campaign alive. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 pm Cairo time.