APR FC head coach Taleb Abderrahim has blamed poor officiating for his side’s 1-0 defeat to Les Aigles du Congo in the first preliminary round of the CAF Champions League, insisting that several key decisions went against the Rwandan champions. Aigles du Congo will take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg in Kigali after Zemanga Soze’s long-range strike settled Sunday’s encounter at Stade Frédéric Kibasa Maliba in Lubumbashi. While acknowledging the quality of the opposition, the Moroccan tactician expressed strong dissatisfaction with the performance of the match officials, led by Beninese referee Idissa Abdul. Taleb also pointed to an incident involving striker Djibril Ouattara, who he claimed was subjected to a heavy challenge by an Aigles du Congo player inside the box and subsequently required hospital treatment. According to the APR coach, the referee ignored the incident and threatened to caution Ouattara when the forward protested the decision. “We tried to hold our ground and capitalise on possession, but I was surprised, not by the defeat itself, but by the referee’s conduct,” Taleb said. “Football cannot progress with referees like this. Please forgive me for saying so. I have coached many CAF Champions League matches with top players, yet I have never experienced such treatment as we did today.” Taleb argued that APR should have been awarded two penalties and questioned several foul calls and cautions issued against his players. “We were denied two penalties, and there were inexplicable foul calls and unnecessary cards issued to the players,” he added. The APR boss also criticised the red card shown to midfielder Ronald Ssekiganda, describing the dismissal as unfair. Taleb alleged that the referee pursued the player after the final whistle before issuing the red card. The result leaves APR facing a difficult task in the return leg at Amahoro Stadium on September 11. The Rwandan champions must overturn the one-goal deficit to keep their continental campaign alive, while conceding at home would further complicate their chances of progressing. The winner of the tie will advance to the second qualifying round of the CAF Champions League, where they will face the winner of the preliminary-round clash between Egyptian giants Zamalek SC and Djibouti’s AS Port in October. Tags: APR FC, Taleb Abderrahim, Aigles du Congo, CAF Champions League
