Ahli manager Manuel Jose demanded that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) cancel Mohamed Barakat's yellow card against Etoile Sahel in the first leg of the African Champions League final. Jose was quoted as saying that Barakat picked-up an undeserved caution and that the referee should have awarded him a penalty-kick instead. TV replays proved that the Egypt winger was pulled down inside the area during the first-half but the referee handed him a yellow card for alleged diving. The game ended in a goalless draw and Ahli will have to do without Barakat in the second-leg in Cairo on November ninth. Barakat almost broke the deadlock in the second-half but he was fouled just outside the area by Mehdi Meriah, who received his marching orders.
Barakat to miss the second-leg The mercurial Ahli midfielder was a key player in the tournament's final match in 2005 when Ahli crushed Etoile 3-0 in Cairo, netting the third goal in the dying seconds. Ahli's Portuguese coach accused the referee of leniency towards some of the home players who deserved cards. Jose also said he is satisfied with the result that moved Ahli to the brink of their third straight African title. Ahli were pinned in their half most of the time but held on to keep a clean sheet and Jose believed his players got the job done. "We never gave them the space and returned to Cairo with the result we wanted," he said.
