Continent's top referee to take charge of decisive leg of African Champions League final

Africa’s top referee has been named to handle the decisive leg of the African Champions League final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Zamalek.

For a second successive year‚ Bakary Gassama of the Gambia will be the man in the middle in the second leg of the final.

Sundowns play away in Alexandria on Sunday‚ October 23 in the second leg after hosting this Saturday’s first leg.

The 37-year-old Gassama was also in charge when Sundowns beat Zamalek 1-0 at home in the group phase of the competition in July.

He also handled the 2015 African Nations Cup final between Ghana and the Ivory Coast in Bata‚ Equatorial Guinea and‚ at the end of the year was named as the continent’s best referee at the annual Confederation of African Football awards.

Gassama was also a referee at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

He will be assisted at the Borg el Arab Stadium by Jean Claude Birumushahu of Burundi and Marwa Range of Kenya.

Saturday’s first leg in Atteridgeville will be handled by Davies Omweno of Kneya‚ who will take charge of his first major cup final.

His assistants are Berhe Tesfagirogis (Eritrea) and Theogene Ndagijmana (Rwanda).

Omweno was in South Africa last month as the referee for the friendly at the Orlando Stadium in which Bafana Bafana beat Egypt 1-0.

Former SuperSport TV presenter Ponga Liwewe‚ now the general secretary of the Zambian Football Association‚ is the match commissioner. — Tiso Black Star Group Digital