RWANDA's football side APR have been expelled from the Confederation Cup for failing to play their home tie against Egypt's Ismaili. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) applied Article 16 of its competition regulations which states that any team which refuses to play shall be considered the loser and will be automatically eliminated from the competition. Ismaili thus automatically qualify for the fourth round where they will meet either Tunisia's Esperance or Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa in May. APR postponed their home tie with Ismaili on 10 April because Rwanda was observing a period of mourning for victims of the genocide in 1994, when an estimated 800,000 people died in tribal fighting. The African football's ruling body says the Rwandan Football Federation "neglected to communicate to CAF" the dates of the mourning period after Ismaili set off from Egypt for the journey. Ismaili, the African Champions League runners-up in 2003, travelled to the Kenyan capital Nairobi, from where they were to fly on to the Rwandan capital Kigali. In Nairobi however, Ismaili officials were informed by Kenya Airways that the Rwandan authorities would not grant them entry visas because of the ongoing genocide commemoration. All sporting events are forbidden in Rwanda during the mourning period. In a statement, CAF's organising committee for inter-clubs competitions said "CAF shall take into consideration in the future, whenever it is possible, this period of mourning." The committee noted, "There was no case of force majeure but a serious negligence from the Rwanda Football Federation which neglected to communicate to CAF the change of the mourning period despite knowing the dates of CAF inter-clubs competitions of this year since June 2004. "Secondly, Ismaili travelled to Nairobi in order to honour CAF fixtures but its delegation could not travel to Kigali and was stranded in Nairobi following the information communicated to Kenya Airways in Nairobi by the Rwandan authorities. "Thirdly, despite the fact that CAF cannot put in doubt its solidarity toward this terrible humanitarian drama encountered by the Rwandan people, and despite that CAF shall take into consideration in the future, whenever it is possible, this period of mourning which may be shifted, during the forthcoming competitions, the CAF organising committee is obliged to apply Article 16 of the regulations of the competition which stipulates that any team which refuses to play shall be considered the loser and will be automatically eliminated."
