Eswatini Premier League outfit Nsingizini Hotspurs FC have filed an official complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against Simba SC head coach Dimitar Pantev, following their elimination from the CAF Champions League.
The Eswatini side were knocked out in the preliminary round after losing 3–0 on aggregate to the Tanzanian giants.
In a statement released after the tie, Nsingizini Hotspurs alleged that Pantev, who replaced South African coach Fadlu Davids only weeks before the fixture, was ineligible to sit on the bench during the second-leg encounter in Eswatini.
“We have established that Mr Pantev Dimitar Nikolaev (Head coach) has no required qualification and has played a pivotal role in the two matches in question, while we have addressed this with opposition in the first leg,” reads the club’s statement.
“According to CAF rules a coach who does not possess the necessary qualifications shall not sit on the bench during the matches of CAF interclub competitions.”
The club referenced CAF regulations, which stipulate that coaches without the requisite certification cannot occupy the technical area during interclub competitions.
Hotspurs further alleged that Simba SC “manipulated the system” by submitting a misleading technical team list for registration purposes.
“Our opposition (SIMBA SC) from Tanzania applied some tricks to dodge the system and the rules by registering an illegible technical team members from the one who appeared in the matchday (Mr. Seleman Abdallan Matola, Mr. Darian Oliveria Goncalves Wilken, Wayne Sandilands. Mr. Matola was on grandstand because he did not have the necessary documents to sit on the bench.
“Mr. Wilken is currently the first Assistant coach while Mr. Sandilands is the current Goalkeeper coach at Raja Athletic Club, who are no longer with the team.
“Therefore, they submitted a team list with Mr. P Dimitar Nikolaev as a team manager on both matches (1st leg 19/10/2025) while he is the head coach of the team (SIMBA SC).
“Mr. Boyko Kamaenov Simeonov is an assistant coach, however he was registered as team staff because he did not have the necessary credentials. Bothe officials were involved coaching in both first and second leg matches.”
CAF has yet to issue an official response to the complaint.
