The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has stated that the recent sanctions imposed on clubs are insufficient, emphasizing that stadiums should be safe and enjoyable environments.
This follows deliberations by the CAF Disciplinary Board on several incidents, resulting in the following penalties:
- ASFAR: Fined USD 20,000.
- CS Constantine: Found guilty and fined USD 15,000. Additionally, the club was ordered to pay the previously suspended fee of USD 10,000 from December 24, 2024.
- Espérance Sportive de Tunis: Found guilty of misconduct due to inappropriate behavior by its supporters and fined USD 150,000.
- Mamelodi Sundowns: Owned by Motsepe, the club was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of USD 100,000. They are also required to strictly enforce the safety and security measures outlined in CAF regulations, guidelines, and directives, particularly in their upcoming matches.
- MC Alger: Found guilty, triggering the execution of a suspended disciplinary sanction from November 24, 2024. This requires the club to play its next two CAF club competition home matches behind closed doors. MC Alger also received fines of USD 10,000 for lighting smoke bombs, USD 20,000 for using laser pointers, and USD 10,000 for throwing objects.
- In a separate judgment related to their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League match against Orlando Pirates on April 9, 2025, MC Alger’s assistant coach, Mr. Mohamed Khezrouni, was suspended for four matches and fined USD 15,000 for violating articles 82 and 123 of the CAF Disciplinary Code.
- MC Alger player Abdelkader Oussama Menezla was suspended for two matches, with one match suspended for one year.
- A fine of USD 100,000 was imposed on MC Alger for the inappropriate behavior of its players and officials.
- Orlando Pirates: Found guilty of misconduct and failure to organize adequate security during their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League fixture against MC Alger on April 9, 2025.
- CAF Disciplinary Board found Club Official Ezekiel Matebula guilty and imposed a four-match ban, with two matches suspended for a probationary period of one year.
- Orlando Pirates players Sipho Chaine and Nkosinathi Sibisi were also found guilty and suspended for one match each for improper conduct, with these suspensions suspended for one year.
- Orlando Pirates were fined USD 50,000 for the improper conduct of their team and an additional USD 20,000 for failing to ensure adequate security.
- Pyramids: Found guilty of misconduct and breaching Article 24.1 of the CAF Stadium Regulations for failing to ensure proper ticketing and crowd control in their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League match against AS FAR on April 1, 2025. They were ordered to pay a fine of USD 15,000.
- USM Alger: Found guilty of breaching Articles 82 and 83 of the CAF Disciplinary Code, as well as Articles 32 and 35 of the CAF Safety and Security Regulations, stemming from their TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup fixture against CS Constantine on April 1, 2025. The sanction imposed was one match to be played behind closed doors, with a suspended probationary period of one year. The club was also fined USD 25,000.
Speaking at a sponsor renewal event with AGL in Sandton on Wednesday, Motsepe expressed his belief that these sanctions are not severe enough and declared a zero-tolerance policy for clubs’ misbehavior.
“We will take strong action against you, we will take serious action if we find you being involved in improper, unethical, governance violating, or corruption, we will take serious action,” Motsepe stated firmly.
“I have to respect judiciary bodies and the disciplinary board, and sometimes the penalties are not harsh enough. But I don’t want to mention any football clubs.
“There was a lot, including in South Africa, where there were disturbances by the fans, and that is bad.
“Every single club, all over the continent, we are there to help you. But we have to send a serious message because people come to the stadium, and it should be a place of safety, a place of enjoyment, not a place of disturbances or uprisings.
“Almost one of the supporters fell and lost their life. We have zero-tolerance for that.”