CAF Disciplinary Board v. Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Repeat Supporter Misconduct)

Espérance Sportive de Tunis was charged with spectator misbehaviour after its supporters threw objects onto the field during the club's TotalEnergies CAF Champions League fixtures against Étoile Sportive du Sahel, played on 26 February 2022 and 12 March 2022.

The CAF Disciplinary Board noted that Espérance had previously received a suspended sanction for a similar offence during the semi-final of the 2020/21 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League season, against Al Ahly of Egypt.

Because this was a repeat of the same category of offence within the period the earlier sanction remained suspended, the Board triggered an automatic suspension of two matches to be played behind closed doors — specifically naming the affected fixtures as Espérance's home match against CR Belouizdad on 2 April 2022 and its home quarter-final fixture — rather than treating the new incident as a fresh, first-instance matter to be sanctioned on its own terms. The Board additionally imposed a USD 20,000 fine on the club.

This case is a clear illustration of how a suspended sanction actually functions in CAF's disciplinary practice: it is not merely a symbolic warning, but converts automatically into an active sporting sanction the moment a club commits the same category of offence again within the relevant window, without requiring a fresh full hearing on the underlying facts.