The Mauritania Super Cup match pitting FC Tevragh Zeina and ASC Ksar was cut short with thirty minutes still to play and decided on penalties because of president Mohamed uld Abdel Aziz’s packed schedule.
The news was confirmed in a statement by the Mauritania Football Federation’s president, Ahmed uld Yahya: “We took the decision in conjunction with the two clubs’ presidents and head coaches, with 60 minutes on the clock and the scores tied at 1-1, and both teams accepted to stop the game and take it to a penalty shootout.”
The astonishing decision caused uproar among Mauritanian fans who called on the country’s football federation to provide explanation on the reasons that pushed the referee to end the match before time.
According to the federation’s top official, the decision was not taken “on a whim”. He justified it due to “the interest of both clubs’ players and coaches in receiving their medals personally from the country’s president.”
President Aziz had a packed agenda that day because the game coincided with the 55th anniversary of the country’s independence and the football match was just one of many acts and events he was scheduled to attend in the northern city of Nouadhibou.
The two teams playing for the Super Cup trophy were .
