The Arab Juventus were trailing 2-0 at home against their arch rivals when they decided to pull out of the game.

Club spokesman Emad Al-Masdi blamed the referee after the team's Ghanaian striker Apoko suffered a broken leg due to a collision with Esperance keeper Hamdi Kasrawi.

"The referee should be held responsible for what happened," Al-Masdi raged.

"We withdrew from the pitch because we felt that the safety of our players was under threat."

Sfaxien are fourth in the Tunisian League standings, two points off third-placed Esperance.