The International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided to reinstate the young Hilal team to the Premier League as part of a legal dispute that lasted for months, delaying the start of the Tunisian Football Premier League. The union then announced the postponement of the opening round matches.
The summit showdown between Esperance and Sfaxien was scheduled to be one of the first matches in the inaugural round on Friday and Saturday. However, the federation abruptly announced that the matches had been postponed to an unspecified date.
The security officials announced that they were unable to protect the matches, according to a statement released by the Tunisian Federation on Friday evening.
Last season, Hilal Al Shaba played his final match against Club Africain and lost with a clean goal. This resulted in his relegation to the second division and the African’s advancement to the coronation stage. However, Al Hilal complained about the African President Youssef Alami’s attendance in the game despite the imposition of a disciplinary sanction against him and demanded that the match’s winning points be given to him.
The Federation’s Appeal Committee dismissed the grievance and upheld the result of the game, which prompted the young Hilal to file a complaint against him with the “Cas” court. On Thursday, the “Cas” court decided to reinstate the team in the Premier League until a session is scheduled in the coming weeks to make its final decision.
After the federation had already established the league structure in two groups (with seven clubs in each group), and the draw for the games schedule had also been made, the decision resulted in a reshuffle of the cards.
Al-Ittihad claimed that giving Hilal Al-Shaba the winning points was intended to force him into play-off games to prevent relegation rather than ensuring his automatic entry into the Premier League.
However, Al-Ittihad put the youthful Hilal in the first group as a result of the “CAS” judgement, and playoff games were held to decide which team would proceed to the second group.
Al Hilal, with assistance from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, publicly rejected this approach and urged that the lottery be held again in order to uphold the “concept of equal opportunities.”
The federation responded by calling the presidents of the Premier League clubs to an urgent meeting today, stating that the division of groups is at the core of its legal competence and that it strives to guarantee the rights of all teams.
In principle, the league race from the previous season could have been affected by the young Hilal being regarded as the winner of his match against the African. How far the crisis might spread is unclear.
After a number of instances, allegations, and verbal exchanges between Hilal al-Shaba and the Tunisian Federation, this is the most recent court case between the two parties. Hilal al-Shaba is led by businessman Tawfiq al-Mashkar.
Due to Hilal Al-failure Shaba’s to resolve financial issues and finish the necessary registration processes for the sports season, the Federation had decided to terminate his participation in the league for the 2020–2021 season. This decision led to demonstrations in the streets of Al-Shaba.
Since 2012, there has been constant tension between the Wadih Al-Jari-led federation and Minister Kamal Duqish’s Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Daqish frequently criticised claims of legal violations and the Football Association.
The International Football Association (FIFA) might withdraw Tunisia’s participation in the World Cup if the authority intervenes to dissolve the federation’s office, according to earlier rumours in local and international media, which Daqish publicly refuted.
The Tunisian League has been postponed due to legal confusion
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