Ahli have been fined and ordered to play their next Champions League home game behind closed doors for their fans' behavior in the recent win over Zambia's ZESCO United. CAF announced the sanction on Saturday following a complaint lodged by the Zambian champions, who lost 1-0 in Cairo last week. The Ahli fans torched Cairo Stadium with canisters after half time, resulting in a minor injury to ZESCO's Billy Mwanza and forcing the referee to halt play for a few minutes. The Cairo club were fined $40,000 following the disruption. African football ruling body CAF has also imposed an $80,000 fine on Tunisia's Club Africain after their fans had invaded the pitch late in the 1-1 home draw with Hilal of Sudan. Unfair Meanwhile, Ahli responded negatively to the CAF verdict, vowing to make an appeal against the decisions. “This is an unfair and harsh decision for us. What happened in the match does not require such a punishment,” Ahli board member Khaled Mortagi told FilGoal.com. “CAF did not take into consideration the security status in Egypt nowadays, even though they did before when the situation was graver. We will surely make an appeal against the decisions.” CAF punished Zamalek for their fans' infamous pitch invasion during the Club Africain game, stressing that the security concerns in Cairo prompted them not to impose a heavy sanction.
