The Confederation of African (CAF) has ruled that the final AFCON 2021 Qualifying group L match between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic be postponed until the next international window.
Caf’s ruling was communicated on Tuesday after the Body’s Appeal Board had considered the cases of both FAs following the abandonment of the said qualifier in March.
It’ll be recalled that as many as five Benin Republic players reportedly tested positive for Coronavirus.
Sierra Leone needed to win at home to reach the tournament for the first time in 25 years while the visitors only needed a draw.
The Benin Republic FA protested the outcome of the test, forcing the game itself to be postponed twice on matchday.
In its initial ruling on the matter, the Tournament’s organizing committee issued a statement through Caf that read:
“The Committee’s rationale to move the dates was based on the fact that the match was to take place on the last day of the international window and, scheduling it for the following day (today, Wednesday) would have affected the players’ scheduled return to their respective clubs.”
In it’s latest statement, the Continent’s football ruling body insisted on the postponed until June.
The CAF Appeal Board has delivered its verdict on the Total Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match:
Sierra Leone vs Benin Match.
The Appeal Body upheld the decision of the Organizing Committee to postpone the fixture to the June 2021 International window.
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Nigeria finished as winner of Group L with 14 points while the Benin (7pts) and Sierra Leone (4pts) will battle for who finishes as runner-up.
