RIYADH: Africa are yet to complete their Champions League semi-finals but Monday’s announcement that the final will be held in Morocco did not sit well with Egypt whose football governing body is ready to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Last weekend, Cairo giants Al-Ahly beat ES Sétif of Algeria 4-0 in the first leg at home to put more foot in the final and stay on course for a third straight continental title provided they avoid disaster in Algiers on Saturday (although Sétif prepared for the second leg by beating Relizane 7-0 in the league on Tuesday).

In the other game of the last four, Wydad Casablanca won 3-1 away against Angola’s Petro de Luanda and returned to Morocco for the second leg on Friday, have every chance of booking their place for the final which will take place on May 30. .

On Monday, just 48 hours after the first leg, the Confederation of African Football announced that Morocco would host the final for the second consecutive year.

A CAF spokesperson said: “CAF received offers from Senegal and Morocco and after the Senegalese offer was subsequently withdrawn, Morocco was awarded the hosting rights.”

With the final likely to be between Al-Ahly and Moroccan Wydad, the decision in Egypt sparked widespread anger. In a letter to CAF, Al-Ahly called for the match to be played elsewhere.

In a statement, the club said: “Al-Ahly stressed in the letter that the final should not be hosted by any of the countries of the four teams participating in the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League and that a neutral venue will provide equal opportunities for all four teams.

“Al-Ahly stressed that the match should be played at a neutral venue, since CAF did not choose the host country at an earlier stage, noting that giving one of the four teams the home advantage in the final contradicts the standards of fair play.

“Al-Ahly expressed his full confidence in the professionalism and fairness of CAF and his commitment to preserving equal rights for the four competing teams.”

Al-Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane led the team to the last two continental titles and took to social media to comment on the decision.

In a message, he said: “When the CAF Champions League group stage matches ended there were rumors that SA (South Africa) would host. After the semi-final matches were decided, there was a big silence on the country to host the final. Then, after the first leg of the semi-finals, suddenly, Morocco hosts.

The club’s stance was supported by the Egyptian Football Association.

EFA board member Amer Hussein said: “The decision to choose the venue came late, after playing the first legs of the semi-finals, and that’s strange. It would have been preferable to hold the final in a neutral stadium or to announce it at the start of the tournament.

“The timing of the game itself is illogical. How can the Champions League final take place shortly before the national teams are in international action? »

Egypt are due to face Guinea in Cairo on June 2 in the opening match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, just 48 hours after the Champions League final. Several Al-Ahly players are members of the national team.

Behind the scenes, CAF officials informed that they had no choice in the matter as only Morocco remained after Senegal pulled out. Unlike Europe, where final sites are announced years in advance and there are usually a number of interested parties, Africa has struggled to attract neutral sites.

The confederation is considering a return to the old two-legged home-and-away format to avoid such controversies in the future.

Naturally, Wydad AC coach Walid Regragui was at pains to point out that his side had yet to book their place in the final and was also keen to point out that the two-time champions didn’t care where it was happening.

He said: “We are ready to play anywhere. CAF has decided to play the final in Morocco, and we must respect their decision. It doesn’t matter to us where the final will take place. We are ready to play in Dakar, in Istanbul, or anywhere else. We have won four away wins in this edition and we are ready to claim a fifth.

Assuming Al-Ahly and Wydad pass the second legs, there will certainly be more feuds to come before the end of the month.

The teams could not be separated after an engaging first leg of this UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final.

Match in brief: Leicester fight for a draw

Leicester, who made their debut in the European semi-finals, started the strongest of the teams and forced a number of early turns. James Maddison’s best from set pieces picked out Timothy Castagne’s run at the far post, but the Belgium international was unable to direct his powerful header towards goal.

The game as it happened: Leicester 1-1 Roma

However, Roma grew in the game and took the lead with a sweeping attack. Switching play from the right flank to the left in his own half, Nicola Zalewski lowered the wing before making a delicious pass through the Leicester defense for the run of visiting skipper Pellegrini, who spent his arrival in Kasper Schmeichel’s legs.

The Foxes started the second half on the front foot and almost capitalized when Marc Albrighton’s inswinging corner picked Ademola Lookman into space, but the 24-year-old mistimed his jump, heading accordingly.

Just like in their quarter-final second leg, some mid-game personnel changes paid off for Brendan Rodgers. He introduced Harvey Barnes just after the hour mark, and it was the midfielder who played a key role in the equalizer five minutes later. Barnes burst into the Roma penalty area before clipping the ball for Lookman, but Mancini, in his haste to reach the cross before the Leicester man, could only help him into the net for the Rome.

The home side smelled victory and only a superb save from Rui Patrício prevented substitute Kelechi Iheanacho’s curling effort from nestling in the corner of the net.

Joe Terry, Leicester reporter

A much better second-half performance from Leicester, who took advantage of Roma’s increasingly deep fall to fit better into the game. Given their dominance in the second half, they may even kick each other for not going any further, but as things stand this tie is well balanced. Roma will support each other at home, but as the last draw showed, Leicester can hurt anyone.

Francesco Corda, Rome journalist

Roma couldn’t capitalize on the opening goal against a Leicester City side who looked a bit sharper. As inertia seemed to set in for Jose Mourinho’s men, Rodgers’ changes breathed new life into the Foxes, who were well worth the draw. Everything is open for the second leg, where the Giallorossi will need Tammy Abraham and Nicolò Zaniolo at their best.

Reaction

Brendan Rodgers, Leicester manager: “I think we played very well. We really dominated the game. They have dangerous players but I’m very happy with the performance. You come to the semi-finals and you want to start well, bring your pace and intensity in the game. The only thing missing was the final touch of quality in the final third.

Ademola Lookman, Leicester midfielder: “There were times when we broke them. We created chances but it’s a shame we couldn’t get the win. It will be a tough game in the second leg with the atmosphere and their fans behind them. We will go there to try and win.”

Lookman on the first leg draw

Jose Mourinho, Roma head coach: “I think we would have lost this game five or six months ago. We had the guts to start strong, pressing hard and giving them little space. Then our energy level went down, we took it a goal we could have avoided and now there will be a final on the line in Rome.”

Lorenzo Pellegrini, Roma captain and goalscorer: “We knew it wouldn’t be easy to come here. They’re a great team, so we’re delighted and ready to go again. Coming away from here with the score at 1-1 before the second leg at home is definitely a plus. The way we approached the game this week should serve as a model for next week.

Key statistics

• Roma have scored in their last 23 UEFA club competition matches.
• Leicester have lost just one of their last 17 European home games.
• Roma have won just one of their last 19 UEFA trips to face English opponents away from home.
• Ten of Leicester’s 13 UEFA Europa Conference League goals have come in the second half.

Alignments

Leicester: Schmeichel; Ricardo Pereira, Fofana, Evans, Castagne (Justin 21); Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury Hall; Albrighton (Barnes 62), Vardy (Iheanacho 62), Lookman (Pérez 83)

Rome: Rui Patricio; Ibanez, Smalling, Mancini; Karsdorp, Mkhitaryan (Veretout 57), Cristante, Pellegrini (Afena-Gyan 85), Zalewski (Vina 85); Zaniolo (Sergio Oliveira 69), Abraham

Where is the 2022 Europa Conference League final?

The National Arena in Tirana (Arena Kombëtare) will host the final on Wednesday 25 May.

The winners secure a place in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League group stage, if they did not qualify through their domestic competition.

Feyenoord vs Marseille Odds

The UEFA Conference League isn’t the sport’s most prestigious European competition, but it’s another opportunity for bettors to assess meaningful matches.

In a semi-final where the winner will face the winner of the other semi-final between Roma and Leicester City, Feyenoord and Marseille will face each other in their showdown on Dutch soil on Thursday.

The first leg will be played in Rotterdam, while the second will take place in Marseille a week later.

So which team will head to France with an advantage? Back to this game.

Feyenoord have a big shot in a new competition

Although the UEFA Conference League was only introduced this year to add another element of revenue to the organisation, it gives clubs like Feyenoord a chance to qualify directly for the Europa League, which ‘they couldn’t do otherwise than with a place in the top two in the Eredivisie.

And while Feyenoord would love to push for a Champions League position, a Conference League title would see the club earn more money in the coming season. This is important, and with a quartet of teams wide open, Feyenoord hope to do just that in the final stretch.

The Dutch side beat Slavia Praha in a spectacular return game that featured two second-half goals to secure progress to the semi-finals, and scoring has been a theme for Feyenoord lately.

He has amassed the second most anticipated goals in the Dutch top flight this year, netting two or more goals in seven consecutive games.

French side Marseille safe to exert effort

If the second-place French side weren’t in first position to qualify for next year’s Champions League, I’m not sure it would make sense to pay much attention to this competition. However, Marseille are six points clear of third place in Ligue 1 with just four games remaining.

It’s not a guaranteed top two, but it’s close enough and the breathing room could allow Marseille to have a little more ability to practice in Rotterdam.

Without that UCL spot, a title in that competition wouldn’t mean much, but a piece of extra gear wouldn’t hurt with that position in the bag.

As such, we can assess Marseille with an honest eye on current form.

Analysis and choice of bets

While I don’t necessarily like a team to find a result in this game, I do like an under game when it comes to the total.

Although Feyenoord have produced on the attacking side in their last outings, they have averaged just 1.54 xG per game at home in the competition and Marseille sit at 0.5 xG/game on the road.

Both teams also have solid defenses, as evidenced by their respective overall averages of 0.9 and 0.57 xGA in the Europa Conference League.

At a price close to Pick’em, this bottom has some serious appeal.

To take: Total Under 2.5 Goals (-105)