2023/24 CAF Conf. Cup: Algeria's USM Alger sanctioned 0-3 for failing to play second leg semi-final match
Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - Africa's football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has sanctioned Algerian club USM Alger 0-3 for failing to play the 2023/24 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup second-leg semi-final match against Moroccan side Renaissance Berkane in Morocco on 28 April 2024.
This means RS Berkane qualify for the final of the competition on a 6-0 aggregate after also being sanctioned with a forfeit of the first-leg match 0-3 a week earlier.
RS Berkane will play Zamalek of Egypt in the final which is scheduled over two legs on 12 and 19 May.
A statement said the CAF Interclub Competitions and Management of the Club Licensing System Committee met to deliberate on last Sunday's incident and decided to "sanction USM Alger with a forfeit of 0-3".
It will also submit the case to the CAF Disciplinary Board "for possible additional sanctions".
At the heart of the off the field clash between the two teams is the bitter political row between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara.
The Algerian team was protesting against a map of Morocco on their shirt that included the disputed Western Sahara.
Morocco has claimed Western Sahara since the departure of Spain in the 1970s while Algeria supports Polisario Front, which has declared the territory as Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
In the first-leg match that was scheduled for Algiers a week earlier, the Moroccan side refused by turn up on the field after Algerian customs officers confiscated the controversial shirts on the grounds that they carried the disputed map of Morocco.
The CAF Interclub Competitions and Management of the Club Licensing System Committee of CAF, awarded Berkane a 0-3 victory after the match was cancelled.
The second-leg semi-final match last Sunday was also cancelled as only Berkane, the home players, took to the field.
Moroccan television reported that the Algerian team, USM Alger, left the stadium just before the scheduled 1900 GMT kickoff.
-0- PANA MA 3May2024
