“African Confederation”: Zad Al-Masry bid farewell to a loss to Azzam Al-Tanzania

Zad Al-Masry bid farewell to the African Confederation Cup, losing 1-0 to its host Azzam of Tanzania in the second leg of the preliminary round (round of 32) on Saturday, in a match held at the “Azzam Complex” stadium in the capital, Dar es Salaam.

The only goal of the match came in the 66th minute from Eddie Nau, who fired a perfect shot from inside the penalty area towards the far post and into the net.

In stoppage time, Zaid thought he had returned the score with a header played by Abdullah Bakri from close range, but the referee canceled it due to a violation.

With this result, Azzam qualifies for the group stage after the first leg ended 1-1.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer joined the list of absentees from Bayern Munich's match in the German League, Sunday, against Freiburg.

Bayern issued a brief statement in which it explained that its captain would miss the match due to chronic tendinitis in his foot, after reports indicated his absence from Saturday’s training.

Neuer (40 years old) returned to Bayern Munich's goalkeeper in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, after Jonas Orbig replaced him in the previous two matches, and he is now expected to be present in the Freiburg match as well.

Coach Vincent Kompany is the other most notable absentee from Bayern Munich, as he is in hospital after suffering a health illness at the team’s training center on Friday.

Midfielder Joshua Kimmich will also miss the second match in a row due to the death of a family member, while defender Kim Min-jae and winger Luis Diaz are suffering from injury, and playmaker Jamal Musiala has not reached the required level of readiness.

Andreas Rettig, Director General of the German Football Association, called for the harshest possible penalties to be imposed on the English club, Manchester City, against the backdrop of its violations of financial regulations.

“Quite frankly, there is nothing worse than this,” Rettig told Kicker sports magazine. “For me, this is not the worst case scenario, but the worst fraud scenario, the most serious case of fraud imaginable.”

He added: “I hope that UEFA will take the maximum possible legal measures and impose the maximum possible penalty. This specifically means withdrawing the club’s license and stripping it of all its titles.”

The lawsuit against Manchester City relates to 115 possible offenses dating back to the period from 2009 to 2018, during which the club is alleged to have, among other things, provided misleading information about its financial position and artificially inflated sponsorship revenues.

An independent committee convicted the club in 114 cases, a ruling that Manchester City is appealing.