“Egypt asked only to host the final game of the Confederation Cup and they did not meet the criteria of the host country,” CAF said in a statement published by AFP early on Friday.

“There are currently continued negotiations between FIFA and CAF over returning the Champions League final game to be played in two legs instead of playing it in one game,” the statement added.

“CAF respect Ahly and Egypt’s FA fears and we are committed with the fair play and the equality between all teams and the association members,” CAF said in their statement.

The problem arose when CAF decided to give Morocco the honour of hosting the final for the second year in row, after Senegal withdrew its request.

The stakes over who will host the final are all the higher for Egypt after the first leg semifinal of the tournament, which indicates that the final would be between Egypt’s Ahly and Morocco’s Wydad Athletic.

The Cairo giants defeated Algeria’s ES Setif at home 4-0, while Wydad won its away game against Angola’s Petro.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) revealed on Thursday that it requested to host the final of the African Champions League.

Ahly also said on Tuesday that they would lodge a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over CAF's decision.

The Reds are scheduled to face ES Setif on Saturday in the second leg of the semifinal of the continental championship.

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