By Napoleon Ato Kittoe
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) pronounced its verdict in the case of the canceled match between the Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RSB) and the Union Sportive de la Médina d’Alger (USMA), and declared the defeat of the Algerian team by three goals to zero while maintaining the return match between the two teams next Sunday in the stadium in the town of Berkane in the northeast of Morocco.
This decision taken during its meeting held on Wednesday, April 24, by the Commission for the Organization of Interclub Competitions and the Management of the Club Licensing System comes following the confiscation last Friday by Algerian customs of official jerseys RS Berkane players flocked with the complete map of Morocco, including its Sahara, yet duly approved by CAF from the start of the continental football cup.
The jerseys in question were seized upon the arrival of Moroccan players at Algiers airport under the pretext of defending “the sovereignty of Algeria”.
It is a resounding slap that the African Confederation has just dealt to the Algerian leaders who venture to impose their diktat on others even in the field of sport, especially when it concerns nationals or the interests of Morocco.
After this snub, it is unlikely that the leaders of Algiers will authorise the USMA team to travel next Sunday to Morocco to play the return match counting for the semi-final of the CAF Cup.
In a vain attempt to escape the sanction of the CAF, the federal office of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) announced its intention to seize the Court of Arbitration for Sport to only save face for the USMA, defending champion of the 2023 edition of the CAF Cup.
