The Confederation of African Football (CAF), has disqualified Algerian club, Entente Setif, from this season’s Champions League.
Setif lost their first Group B match 2-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns and are bottom of the group.
They were scheduled to play Zamalek next, but CAF has now thrown them out of the competition, leaving Enyimba, Zamalek and Sundowns in the group.
Explaining the verdict on their website, CAF said: “(The decision was taken) following the regrettable incidents that took place during match no.98 of the 2016 edition of CAF Champions League between ES Setif (Algeria) vs Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), whereby the referee was obliged to abandon the said match before its end.
“Match officials noted especially the pitch invasion as well as numerous throws of missiles, stones, bottles, and firecrackers, provoking a certain number of injured spectators and members of the security forces.
“The CAF Organizing Committee for the Inter-Clubs Competitions decided to apply the provisions of Chapter XII para 3 and considered ES Sétif loser and eliminated from the competition without prejudice to any other sanctions that may be imposed by CAF Disciplinary Board.
“Chapter XII para 3 stipulates: ‘3. If the referee is forced to stop the match before the end of the regular time because of invasion of the field or aggression against the visiting team, the host team shall be considered loser and shall be eliminated from the competition, without prejudice to the sanctions existing in the regulations.
“Concerning the result of the said match, it is hence cancelled in conformity with the spirit of article XI.13 of the regulations stipulating: ‘If a team withdraws after the start of the group matches without having played half of the group matches, the overall results of the matches in which this team participated is cancelled.”
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