Algeria Football – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) sparked a strong reaction in Algeria by making a decision in favor of Morocco, linked to the jersey of the Moroccan club Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RS Berkane) for the African Football Confederation Cup ( CIF).
Indeed, CAF officially approved a jersey displaying a map including the disputed territories of Western Sahara, which was perceived by Algeria as a political provocation and a biased decision in favor of Morocco.
During the recent CAF Cup qualifying match against Beninese club Dadjè, RS Berkane wore a jersey without a political symbol. However, CAF’s decision to accept the controversial card for the group stage sparked controversy. Already in August, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) had anticipated this possibility and sent an official letter to CAF. In this correspondence, the FAF requested clarification and warned CAF against repeating the incident that occurred last season, but it received no response.
The final resolution of this matter will be left to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, which will hear the parties concerned on November 12. The final decision, expected within one to two months, could have implications for the use of geopolitical symbols in sporting competitions in Africa.
