Menzi Magubane
Orlando Pirates could be crowned CAF Confederation Cup champions if RSB Berkane are found guilty of bribery.
Reports suggest that TP Mazembe have sacked their fitness coach Alexandra Coppolani after he received a R688,080 bribe from Berkane.
According to the Congolese giants, Berkane bribed Coppolani to secure a deal with their goalkeeper Baggio Saidi to help them qualify for the 2021/22 Confederation Cup final.
CAF Confederation Cup rules indicate that a club found guilty of fraud, administrative error and match fixing will be forced to return the trophy.
“The club shall be asked to return the trophy which will be awarded to the runners-up. The guilty team shall be suspended for three years from all CAF competitions,” states the CAF rule book.
The Moroccans beat Pirates 5-4 on penalties to be crowned Confederation Cup champions in Nigeria on 20 May.
Since the Buccaneers are runners-up they are likely to be handed the trophy plus the prize money should Berkane be found guilty by CAF disciplinary committee.
Before Berkane met Pirates they defeated Mazembe 4-2 on aggregate in the two legged semi-finals. According to the Congolese the bribery took place before the matches.
Pirates last won the CAF competition trophy back in 2005 when they clinched the Champions League and became the first South African team to win it before Mamelodi Sundowns followed suit in 2016.
The defeat in the Confederation Cup final to Berkane was not the first time they lost out on this title. Their first was back in 2015 where they lost out to ES Sahel from Tunisia. Image source: @CorrectScore
