The Confederation of African Football (CAF) sent an urgent letter to the Union Sportive of Algiers (USMA), demanding that the Algerian Federation “promptly” release jerseys of Moroccan football team RSB Berkane.
All uniforms of teams participating in African competitions had been approved before the start of the tournaments, including the Berkane jerseys, according to CAF.
An emergency meeting held on Saturday morning at a local hotel concluded that if the Algerian authorities do not comply with CAF’s directives, Union Sportive of Algiers will be considered as having forfeited their match against RSB Berkane in the semi-finals of the CAF Cup.
The Algerian authorities refused entry to RSB Berkane’s delegation at the Houari Boumediene Airport on Friday due to their jerseys featuring Morocco’s full map extending to its Sahara.
Algerian security forces left the team stranded at the airport for hours and confiscated its equipment.
Later on Friday, during a meeting held between the club officials and Algerian authorities in the presence of representatives from CAF, Algerian authorities demanded that RSB Berkane hide the full map of Morocco with stickers. The club refused the request considering it absurd and unacceptable.
CAF requested the team to leave the airport and go to their hotel, promising to return their belongings before Sunday’s game.
Sources close to the Berkane team reported that the team plans to proceed to the stadium for their training session while awaiting further developments following CAF’s decision in the coming hours.