Charles Taylor To Miss Next Match

Ghanaian international, Charles Asampong Taylor who plays for Tunisian-side, Etoile Sportive du Sahel has been suspended from the next MTN CAF Champions League match after recieving the marching off orders for a second bookable offence in their Champions League match played on Saturday in Sousse, Tunisia. This is in compliance with the CAF rule on qualification of players which stipulates that, 'a player who receives two cautions shall be automatically suspended from playing the subsequent match in any CAF inter-club competition'. Taylor, who spots an unusual number 20 jersey for his club received the second yellow card in their match against arch-rivals, Esperance of Tunisia which ended goalless. The two clubs, representing Tunisia's top two cities, have long fought battles for domestic dominance. Etoile Sahel from Sousse have played second fiddle to Esperance for the last decade, although last year they did reach the final of the Champions League and were very unlucky to lose in the end in a penalty shootout to the Nigerian club, Enyimba. Esperance, from the capital Tunis, won seven championship titles in a row but have since slipped dramatically over the last 12 months and are now no longer the same force. Being paired together in the Champions League draw added a new dimension to their rivalry and the importance of getting a result in Saturday's match was well illustrated by the tense nature of the game.

In the end it all proved too much, as police had to rush onto the field to intervene in a punch up 10 minutes from the end of the game that ultimately saw Esperance's Brazilian striker Dos Santos getting his marching orders. This was just five minutes after Etoile Sahel's winger Charles Taylor had been handed a second yellow card. It will be recalled that Charles Taylor wore the usual no. 8 jersey for both Hearts and Kotoko before he was transfered to the Tunisian side where he plays alongside his old-time friend, Frank 'Agya Bi Wua, Agya Bi Te Ase' Osei and two other Nigerians. The number 8 jersey is the preserve of their playmaker, Mohammed Jedidi.

Etoile Sahel play their next match against Zamalek of Egypt in Cairo on Sunday, July 2, 2005.