Mamelodi Sundowns took a slender advantage in the CAF Champions League final after edging Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (AS FAR) 1-0 in a first leg overshadowed by a malfunctioning VAR system. The South African champions struck through left-back Aubrey Modiba, whose superb free-kick from outside the box found the net eight minutes before half-time at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The match descended into farce at the start of the second half when technical issues rendered the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system unusable. Both teams were left waiting for around 20 minutes before officials decided to resume play without VAR, in what many observers branded another embarrassing episode for African football on a big stage.
Sundowns could have won by a wider margin but Colombian striker Brayan León missed three clear chances early in the second half. Midfielder Teboho Mokoena then struck the post with another free-kick five minutes from time as the hosts pushed for a second goal.
Despite the frustrations, Sundowns will be pleased to have kept a clean sheet and denied AS FAR a precious away goal under the competition’s rules. The Pretoria side are chasing their second Champions League crown, having last lifted the title in 2016, while AS FAR are seeking a first continental triumph in the modern CAF era, 41 years after winning the old African Champions Cup.
The second leg is scheduled for next Sunday in Rabat, where Royal Armed Forces will hope home advantage and a fired-up crowd can overturn the deficit. The controversy over the faulty VAR is expected to fuel renewed calls for CAF to improve officiating technology and match organisation at its flagship competitions.
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