By Albert Akota
NPFL champions, Enyimba, will comply with a latest CAF sanction and host Burkinabe side, Rahimo FC, in the second leg of their 2019/2020 CAF Champions League Preliminary Round fixure inside an empty stadium in Aba this Sunday.
This follows a sanction by CAF who imposed the empty stadium punishment on the two-time African champions following what it labelled ‘crowd invasion in the previous game’.
In their last campaign in the CAF Champions League, Enyimba were sanctioned after the home game against Cara of Congo when a late goal saw the People’s Elephant through.
CAF frowned at the poor floodlights at the stadium, but Enyimba’s appeal against the sanction was understood to have been thrown out by CAF last week.
Enyimba will need an outright win of at least 2-0 to go past the Burkinabes who won 1-0 at home in the first leg two weeks ago.
“This latest decision by CAF came to us rather as a shock. Yes, they complained after our match against Cara which was our first game in Aba following our return from Calabar after nearly three seasons.
But we’ve played other games at home since then,” laments an Enyimba official who is unhappy that his team will face Rahimo in a big game like CAF Champions League without their vociferous home supporters.
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