Following football and handball, the Algerian Gymnastics Federation has withdrawn from the African Artistic Gymnastics Championship, just days before the tournament commencement in Marrakech from April 30 to May 7, according to a statement released on Sunday.
In a letter to the Royal Moroccan Gymnastics Federation (FRMG), the Algerian counterpart confirmed their withdrawal and expressed sadness for their teams’ absence from the competition.
This decision, made amid developing political tensions between the two countries, is also spilling over into sports.
The federation ascribed the withdrawal to a lack of approval from Algeria’s Ministry of Youth and Sport. “The file submitted to the Ministry of Youth and Sports did not receive validation for the execution of this mission,” the statement stated.
On Sunday evening, USM Alger withdrew from the second leg of the African Football Confederation Cup semifinal against RS Berkane. The match was supposed to take place at 8 P.M. at the Berkane municipal stadium. As a result, RS Berkane won the match via forfeit with a score of 3-0. This victory enabled the Moroccan team to move on to the competition finals against Egypt.
The first leg game between the two teams was not held, due to a dispute over Berkane’s jerseys featuring the elongated map of Morocco.
Reports from Barlamane.com suggest that Algeria will prohibit its teams from participating in official international competitions hosted in Morocco.