Étoile du Sahel Challenge Youcef Belaïli's Eligibility After Tunisian Clasico Defeat

According to WinWin, the club believes Belaïli featured while registered with two clubs at once, the latest twist in a summer that has followed the Algerian forward from courtroom to contract dispute. Espérance say they had a legal counsellor review the matter before fielding him.

The complications trace back to Belaïli's case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where he successfully appealed a ban imposed after French club AC Ajaccio accused him of forgery. Free to play again, he extended his stay at Espérance for the new season, but also signed a pre-contract agreement with Algerian champions MC Alger. MC Alger have accused him of breaching that deal. Belaïli has downplayed the claim, arguing the pre-contract had already lapsed.

None of that stopped him taking the captain's armband against Étoile du Sahel. He missed a first-half penalty, but Espérance recovered to win the derby 3-2, leaving the eligibility question as the story that follows them into the new campaign.