The CAF Disciplinary Commission has rejected Enugu Rangers’ request to play behind closed doors. MC Alger will therefore host the match with their supporters at Douéra, with a three-goal winning margin required.
Enugu Rangers’ request did not clear the CAF Disciplinary Commission. On Friday 23 October 2026, the body officially rejected the Nigerian club’s urgent request to play the return leg behind closed doors, according to La Gazette du Fennec. The notification document was signed by the commission’s president, Ousmane Kane.
MC Alger will therefore host Enugu Rangers this Friday at 21:00 at the Ali Ammar stadium in Douéra, with their supporters present. A context that weighs on an already decisive match: beaten 2-0 in the first leg, the Algiers side must win by at least three goals to secure their direct ticket to the group stage, according to Eurosport.
A decision signed by Ousmane Kane
Enugu Rangers had filed an urgent request with CAF for a behind-closed-doors match, citing acts of intrusion and material damage attributed to Algerian supporters during the first leg on Sunday 18 October at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta (Competition.dz). The Disciplinary Commission, chaired by Ousmane Kane, did not grant the request.
MC Alger’s management, for its part, had responded by documenting a hostile reception and demonstrating that some of the material damage predated the match, reports La Gazette du Fennec. The CAF decision therefore leaves the stands of Douéra open for the return leg.
Disciplinary investigation remains open
While behind closed doors is ruled out, the first-leg file is not closed. CAF has also confirmed the formal opening of a disciplinary investigation into all the events that occurred in Abeokuta, according to La Gazette du Fennec.
For MC Alger, the sporting task remains clear, as Eurosport recalled: they will need to win by at least three goals to reach the group stage directly.
Douéra, stage for a delicate mission
Kick-off is set for 21:00 local time, according to Livefoot. On the pitch, the Algiers side will have to overturn a situation compromised since the 2-0 defeat conceded in Abeokuta. Head coach Khaled Ben Yahia will have to bring his team back from a two-goal deficit.
Opposite them, Enugu Rangers, led by head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu, will try to preserve their advantage. The Nigerians did not get the behind-closed-doors match they demanded, but they retain a two-goal lead. Algerian supporters are allowed to take their places in the stands at Douéra.