2023/24 CAF Confederation Cup: RS Berkane vs USM Alger second-leg semi-final match cancelled
Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - The second-leg semi-final CAF African Confederation Cup match between Renaissance Berkane of Morocco and Algerian side USM Alger has been cancelled as the dispute over a map on the Moroccan team's shirts that includes Western Sahara rages on.
On Sunday in Berkane, Morocco, only the home players, Renaissance Berkane, took the field, according to media reports. They saluted their fans as the stadium announcer told the crowd the match had been cancelled.
Moroccan television reported that the Algerian team, USM Alger, left the stadium just before the scheduled 1900 GMT kickoff.
Last week, Africa's football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), awarded Berkane a 3-0 victory in the first-leg match that was cancelled when the Moroccan club refused to appear on the field after Algerian officials confiscated their shirts when they arrived at the airport.
Customs officers confiscated Berkane's shirts on the grounds that they carried a map of Morocco that included the disputed Western Sahara, which is at the heart of sour diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The CAF Interclub Competitions and Management of the Club Licensing System Committee decided to sanction USM Alger, the defending champions, also to submit the case to the Disciplinary Board for possible additional sanctions, a CAF statement said.
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.
-0- PANA MA 29April2024
