The draw in the derby between Club Africain and Esperance de Tunis (0-0) did not only leave a bitter taste on a sporting level. Behind the scenes, it could mark the end of a collaboration: coach Faouzi Benzarti would have asked to leave his functions, tired of the controversies and what he judges to be a climate of “permanent injustice” against his team.
A departure in an explosive climate
According to statements by the vice-president of the African Club, Mehdi Miled, Faouzi Benzarti confided to management that he no longer wished to continue his adventure at the head of the first team.
“He told me: I have never seen so much injustice in my life as that suffered by Club Africain,” Miled revealed on Mosaique FM and Attessia TV.
This reaction follows a series of incidents related to refereeing, deemed unfavorable to the Bab Jedid club: contested penalty against AS Soliman, penalty refused against US Monastirienne, severe expulsion to Métlaoui, then several contentious decisions during the derby against Esperance.
Mehdi Miled denounces “two-speed arbitration”
The club manager claims that the club had officially requested the replacement of the referees in the VAR room before the derby, without success. He believes that these repeated decisions “have undermined the morale of the team and its staff”, to the point of reaching a breaking point.
“The CA is targeted. There is a system against the club. Amir Loucif’s refereeing changed the result of the match. It’s two-speed arbitration,” insisted Miled, accusing the National Directorate of Arbitration and the Tunisian Football Federation.
At this stage, no official confirmation of Benzarti’s departure has yet been released by Club Africain. But internally, several sources speak of a “tense and irreversible” situation.
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