Mauritanian president accused of ordering shootout to avert boredom

Mauritania’s president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was accused of ordering a penalty shootout to avert his boredom in the Super Cup Final.

Mauritania’s president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was accused on Tuesday of ordering a penalty shootout to avert his boredom in last weekend’s Super Cup final.

The match, which took place between FC Tevragh-Zeina and ACS Ksar, lasted only 63 minutes before the referee ordered for penalties to take place with the score tied at one.

Mauritanian federation president, Ahmed Ould Abderrahmane, defended Abdel Aziz in a statement released on Tuesday, claiming that the president’s reported restlessness regarding the slow pace of the match had nothing to do with its conclusion.

“I deny in the strongest terms the intervention of the President of the Republic,” Abderrahmane wrote. “The decision was made due ​​to organisational issues in accordance with the presidents and the coaches of the two teams.”

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Tevragh-Zeina eventually outlasted ACS Ksar in the shootout.