Whistle Blues: Pyramids FC Cry Foul After Champions League Exit

Allegations and Context

Pyramids FC has filed an official complaint with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against Mauritanian referee Dahan Bida, citing refereeing errors that appeared biased and decisive against the club in the return leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinal against AS FAR Rabat.

The club says the referee's decisions contributed to a clear injustice, being a major reason for the elimination and the loss of the competition, pointing to two blatant penalties that would have favored Pyramids but were not awarded.

In the first half, the foul was obvious and even reviewed via video technology, yet the referee rejected the penalty in a decision described as shocking. In the second half, he also failed to award a penalty for the foul on Youssef Obama in the box, without consulting VAR.

The club adds that the referee allowed time-wasting by the opposing team and did not compensate for the stoppages fairly, nor provided adequate protection to Pyramids players from robust challenges.

The complaint concluded with a demand for an urgent investigation into the referee and the officiating team, citing decisions that directly affected the match outcome and led to the team's exit from the tournament.

Pyramids lost at home to AS FAR Rabat 2-1, after drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Morocco.

Punchline 1: If refereeing were a sniper sport, the whistle would be a sniper's rifle—aimed at excuses, not at goals.

Punchline 2: Next time the ref needs a map, maybe he should hire a VAR to navigate the offside—because clearly, the whistle has its own compass.