Lifeline for Orlando Pirates' Champions League journey? St Eloi Lupopo confirm receipt of CAF letter after Bucs filed a complaint

Orlando Pirates went past Lioli of Lesotho in the first preliminary round of the CAF Champions League after a 7-0 aggregate win.

They were paired with St Eloi Lupopo of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the two legs of the second preliminary round ended 3-3, but the Soweto giants fell 5-4 in the penalty shootout.  

It was a heartbreaking result for Bucs, who had reached the semi-final in the last edition.   

Bucs wrote to CAF questioning the eligibility of coach Guy Bukasa, as well as Henoc Molia and Wanet Kashala who Pirates claim were not signed per the requirements. 

"Yes, they (CAF) sent the letter yesterday. We are going to respond very soon. We have five days to respond," Lupopo General Secretary Jean Luc Kapend said as quoted by KickOff. 

"It’s normal. In Congo, we changed our passports in June this year," he added regarding Molia's issue.

"We got the new passport, national passport and we have another passport. 

"Also, for this player [Molia], we used one just one passport of the player. We don't put two passports in the system, we used the new passport of Congo, and this is the valid passport now. If you change the passport, the last one falls down.  

"It's also not true because we registered the players on 29th September and the window closed on 30th September. 

"Yes, they sent it [on Thursday] and we are going to respond. They give us five days to respond. We’re not affected because the rules are clear," Kapend concluded.

Well, just as seen recently when Bucs were sanctioned for playing suspended Teboho Mokoena, the Sea Robbers' faithful should remain hopeful.  

However, if Lupopo prove otherwise, Pirates will have to lick their wounds and focus on domestic assignments.