The wait was long. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has finally decided to deliver its verdict concerning the affair which shook African football between the Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RSB) and the Union sportif de la Médina d’Algiers (USMA).
According to several sources close to the matter, the CAF Disciplinary Commission imposed a fine of 40,000 US dollars on USM Alger for not having honored its home and away matches in the semi-final of the Confederation Cup against RS Berkane last season due to the flocking of the complete Morocco map.
Indeed, USM Alger was involved in a notable controversy regarding political interference and refusal to play an African competition semi-final against Berkane Renaissance. This incident sparked strong and diverse reactions, both on a sporting and political level.
Berkane’s orange Renaissance jersey caused great controversy last season, when the Algerian authorities reacted in a surprising way to the arrival of the Moroccan team at Houari Boumediene airport to face USM Alger in the match go to the semi-finals of this competition last April.
Algerian officials refused to allow entry of the Moroccan team’s luggage due to the presence of a card with political connotations unacceptable in Algeria on the team’s jerseys, according to Algerian reports.
The CAF Competitions Commission authorized the Moroccan club to play with the jerseys contested by the Algerian club, which appealed the decision, but the appeal committee upheld CAF’s decision.
Algeria had asked CAF to prohibit Berkane Renaissance from playing with its jersey. However, CAF confirmed that Berkane Renaissance had the right to wear their official jerseys against USM Alger, including the Morocco card, which has been approved for years.
Algerian officials therefore prepared new jerseys for the Moroccan team without the card, but the match observer refused this initiative, because the team’s jerseys had been validated by CAF and could only be modified with its approval and further validation.
This situation ultimately led to the disqualification of USM Algiers for the home and away matches due to the stubbornness of Algerian officials and their opposition to the territorial integrity of Morocco.
Since this episode, Moroccans have shown an unprecedented passion for the RSB jersey which costs 200 dirhams in stores. In all its models, the Berkanis tunics flocked with the complete map of Morocco are in demand everywhere, an infallible patriotic sign following the relentlessness suffered by the team from the Algerian authorities.
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