USM Alger withdrew from the second leg of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup semi-final against RS Berkane on Sunday evening, which was scheduled to take place at 8 P.M. at the Berkane municipal stadium, handing Berkane a 3-0 forfeit and leading the Moroccan team to a Confederation finals appearance.
Berkane’s fans displayed a tifo including the Moroccan map and the nation’s slogans: God, Motherland, King.
As a result, RSB will face Egypt’s Zamalek in the finals of the competition on May 12 and May 19 in Berkane and Cairo, respectively.
Zamalek won its game 3-0 against Ghana’s Dream Football Club on the same day.
With regard to the first leg, which was scheduled for last Sunday in Algiers but which never eventually came to fruition, the CAF Clubs Committee unanimously decided on Wednesday by its nine members to sanction the Algerian club with a 0-3 forfeit.
The committee also decided to refer the case to the disciplinary panel for possible additional sanctions.
On Friday, the CAF Appeals Board confirmed the decisions of the Confederation’s Clubs Committee regarding the first leg of the USMA-RSB match, rejecting the appeal lodged by the Algerian team.
The decision comes after Algerian officials refused to play Berkane because their jersey contains the elongated Moroccan map, that, for them, is a political sign and symbol, and which in turn “runs counter to CAF principles.”
In Algiers, Algerian authorities confiscated Berkane’s jerseys. Berkane refused to play without its official jerseys, which led to the game annulment. The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) provided erroneous alternate jerseys featuring only the sponsor’s name and the Moroccan flag, but the RSB players refused to wear them.
Algerian officials refused to restore the jerseys impounded at the airport, despite receiving an urgent letter from the CAF asking them to release the Moroccan players’ equipment.
The CAF then intervened in the conflict between Moroccan and Algerian authorities. The CAF addressed an urgent letter to Algerian officials requesting the release of jerseys belonging to the Moroccan delegation.
It affirmed that the RSB squad was entitled to wear their jerseys, which had been approved by CAF prior to the competition.