The Outgoing League Board Allegedly Refused to Examine This Burning Case – The Responsibility to Render a Verdict in This Thorny Matter Will Fall on the Newly Elected Board
La Presse — The winner of the National Professional Football League elections held on 14 February, Walid Ben Mohamed, is still waiting for his list’s election to be confirmed so he can take office. Although everything was scheduled for the beginning of this week, one of the two rival lists – namely that of Akil Ben Hassine – filed an appeal on Saturday.
The list of Hassen Zayane deemed it unnecessary to continue a legal battle it considered futile. Because of this last‑minute appeal, the entire timetable for the inauguration of the new board, declared winner by a margin of 30 votes, has been thrown into disarray. The decision of the Electoral Appeal Commission, which must be issued no later than next Saturday, will determine whether the election results become final; any possible recourse to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will not be suspensive.
All League Files Remain Unexamined
This is why none of the dossiers on the league’s table have been examined to date – including the complaint filed by OB against ST regarding the simultaneous participation of five foreign “stadistes” in the match between the two teams on 13 February.
A Delay with Heavy Consequences
It is not in the interest of either team to wait indefinitely for a verdict in a matter that could be reviewed in a single day. ST played its postponed match against Espérance and will play ASM on 28 February, while OB will face EST on 1 March, all without the disputed match result being validated at first instance (a field result for ST or a walk‑over victory for OB).
This situation highlights how essential it is to entrust the examination of such urgent claim files – which must be processed quickly because the verdicts have a major impact on the overall standings – to independent commissions rather than to the league’s executive board.
It would even be preferable for the decisions of these commissions not to be ratified by the incumbent league board, but to be directly appealable before the National Appeals Commission. Such a procedure would save a great deal of time and would be highly beneficial for the smooth running of the competition.
This proposal and the flagship reform were at the heart of Akil Ben Hassine’s list, which has now filed a new appeal to annul the entire electoral process that placed Walid Ben Mohamed at the head of the National Professional Football League.
