Esperance hit back at Etoile du Sahel’s refereeing bias accusations

Current Tunisian reigning champions Esperance de Tunis have stated that they refute any claims made by Etoile du Sahel regarding match officials favoring the capital club. Both clubs will face each other in week 9 of the Tunisia Ligue 1 fixture later today.

Etoile du Sahel have claimed that referees often favor Espérance during their encounters. This prompted an official response from Espérance, who rejected the accusations, denounced attempts to put pressure on referees, and called on the Tunisian Football Federation to appoint foreign referees for its upcoming important matches in the interests of neutrality and transparency.

According to La Presse, Esperance notably referred to a 2024 match in which they claimed to have been denied a legitimate goal against Etoile in Sousse. The Tunis side distanced itself from the match officials and rejected claims that referees support Esperance. The club added that it rejects “all forms of pressure or manipulation aimed at influencing results” and pointed out that its opponents have sometimes benefited from unclear or even non-existent penalties, while the club has, according to them, been deprived of obvious contentious decisions.

Esperance de Tunis vs Etoile du Sahel Kickoff Time:

The Tunisia Classico will be played today at 2:00 PM GMT, with Esperance hoping to close the gap on leaders Stade Tunisien. Etoile du Sahel are currently 12th with nine points after a difficult start to the new season.

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