The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) and USM Alger’s request to overturn the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), in that the Algerian club was forced to forfeit the match against RS Berkane by a score of 3-0.
The CAS referred the case to the CAF Disciplinary Committee to take the necessary sanctions against the USM Alger team.
USM Alger decided to withdraw from the second leg of the CAF Cup semi-final against RS Berkane on Sunday, resulting in a 3-0 forfeit in favor of Berkane and Berkane’s advancement to the finals.
The CAF Appeals Board upheld on Friday the decisions of the Confederation’s Clubs Committee regarding the first leg of the USMA-RSB match and dismissed the Algerian team’s appeal.
RS Berkane is set to play Egypt’s Zamalek in the finals on May 12 and May 19 in Berkane and Cairo, respectively. Zamalek secured a 3-0 victory over Ghana’s Dream Football Club on Sunday.
Algerian officials refused to compete against Berkane and confiscated the Moroccan team’s jerseys because they featured Morocco’s extended map encompassing Sahara.
FAF provided alternate jerseys to RS Berkane carrying only the sponsor’s name and the Moroccan flag, but the RSB players refused to wear them.
All uniforms of teams participating in African competitions necessitated prior approval in advance of the tournament, including the Berkane jerseys, according to CAF.