2024 USM Alger v RS Berkane football matches

The USM Alger-RS Berkane matches is a football matches, counting for the semi-finals of the 2023–24 CAF Confederation Cup. Each tie in the knockout phase is being played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. Due to the issue of the map of Morocco including Western Sahara on RS Berkane’s shirt, both matches were not played. The case was referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.^[1]

The issue of Western Sahara

The territory of the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara has caused a deep-seated antagonism and general mistrust between Algeria and Morocco that has permeated all aspects of Moroccan-Algerian relations. After Spain announced its intention to abandon the territory in 1975, relations between Morocco and Algeria, both of which had previously presented a united front, disintegrated.^[2]

Algeria, although not asserting any territorial claims of its own, was averse to the absorption of the territory by any of its neighbors and supported the Polisario Front's wish to create an independent nation in the territory. Before the Spanish evacuation, the Spanish government had agreed to divide the territory, transferring the majority of the land to Morocco and the remainder to Mauritania. This agreement violated a United Nations (UN) resolution that declared all historical claims by Mauritania or Morocco to be insufficient to justify territorial absorption and drew heavy criticism from Algeria.^[3]

Algiers match

Three days before the match, RS Berkane traveled to Algeria, where they were allowed to take a direct flight from Berkane to Algiers instead of passing through Tunisia (while Algerian skies were closed to flights from Morocco). Due to the ambiguity regarding the match shirts which show the map of Morocco, including Western Sahara, a territory 80% controlled by Morocco and claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria. Algeria has also severed its diplomatic relations with its Moroccan neighbor because of this issue, Algerian customs asked to see these jerseys and did not allow the delegation to take them.^[5][6] After the letter from the CAF interclub relations manager, the USMA lodged an appeal and the CAF jury responded. Emad Chenouda responded that the Club Commission had decided to keep this jersey despite the refusal of the Algerian authorities. USM Alger which appealed this decision via the Algerian Football Federation, received a negative response.^[7]

The semi-final first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup between USM Alger and RS Berkane has been canceled. The Berkane players refused to play with the jackets provided by the Algerian Federation and without their “official” jerseys. Despite their presence at Stade du 5 Juillet, the Moroccans refused to go onto the field.^[8][9] The president of the Moroccan club Hakim Benabdellah told CAF officials that there is no match without the jerseys circulating all over the map of the Kingdom of Morocco.^[10][11] FAF president Walid Sadi announced that he intended to bring the matter before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). “Our position is clear, we will not back down and we are ready for anything”.^[10][11][12] The Confederation of African Football (CAF) indicated that the first leg of the semi-final of the Confederation Cup did not take place on April 21, 2024, in Algiers as planned. The matter will be brought before the competent authorities. CAF apologizes for any inconvenience caused to sponsors, TV partners and supporters.^[13] On April 24, The CAF Interclub Competitions and Management of the Club Licensing System Committee met to deliberate on the incident between USM Alger and RS Berkane, they decided to Sanction USM Alger with a forfeit of 0–3, and To Submit the case to the Disciplinary Board for possible additional sanctions. The second leg fixture at the Berkane Municipal Stadium on 28 April 2024 is maintained.^[14][15]

Berkane match

Despite the lingering crisis due to the first leg, USM Alger traveled to Morocco on April 26 aboard a private Egyptian plane on a direct flight.^[16] although the meeting is not expected to take place again. The FAF received a new letter from CAF, notifying a rejection of the appeal lodged after the decision to declare USM Algiers forfeited in the first leg.^[17] During the technical meeting before the match was held in the presence of the leaders of USM Alger and RS Berkane and representatives of the Algerian and Moroccan federations. Where did RS Berkane indicate that she planned to wear the flocked jersey set of the map of Morocco with Western Sahara.^[18]

USM Alger refused to play since the Moroccan club still wears its jersey with the country's disputed map on the chest. The officials waited a quarter of an hour before realizing that one of the two teams had not left the locker room. At this time, RS Berkane players entered the stadium to greet their supporters while USM Alger players left the municipal stadium towards Oujda to make the return trip to Algiers.^[19][20] Before kick-off, RS Berkane supporters brandished a “tifo” with the map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. CAF awarded RS Berkane qualification for the final of this competition. The FAF has initiated a procedure to appeal the CAF sanction before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, considering that the Cairo-based body has "validated the Moroccan club's request to wear a jersey with a political message" during the home and away semi-final.^[21] On May 2, CAF designated RS Berkane as finalist of the Confederation Cup and declared to transmit the file to the disciplinary committee for possible other sanctions against the FAF.^[22][23]

At the Court of Arbitration for Sport

In accordance with article 48 paragraph 3 of the CAF Statutes, this decision is subject, according to the appeal jury, to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within ten days from notification of the decision. decision and must include all the element documents appearing in point 2 of the directives emanating from the CAS.^[25] For its part, the FAF, through its general secretariat, had contacted the General Secretariat of the CAF, on April 14, 2024, regarding the geographical map published on the official website of the African body and which is not not consistent with official maps of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) where the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (RASD) and not Western Sahara.^[25]

On April 23, 2024, the Algerian Football Federation and USM Alger filed a request with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne through a law firm specializing in this type of case. The motion was filed for summary judgment for emergency judgment. A company made up of experienced lawyers has been appointed to defend the Algerian cause. In its complaint USMA highlighted the violations by RS Berkane and CAF of the articles of the statutes and regulations of the latter, including those relating to equipment, namely articles 59 and 60 or even law 4 of the IFAB.^[26]

On May 2, the CAS announced that it had rejected the request for interim relief to suspend the decision of the CAF appeal jury which validated the use of the RS Berkane jersey, in the absence of a response from the Confederation of African Football. However, the case remains open on the merits and the court is in the process of collecting the elements of each party.^[27][28] After the Competitions Commission of the Confederation of African Football approved the qualification of RS Berkane for the Confederation Cup final, against the backdrop of a political-judicial conflict which ended in the CAS offices, the Algerian Football Federation is preparing to submit a new request to the CAS, with the aim of temporarily stopping the final scheduled by the Pan-African body in two matches on May 12 and 19. In this regard, the FAF requested that the case be heard by a single judge. This request did not encounter any opposition from the parties concerned, namely CAF, FRMF and RS Berkane.^[29]

On May 10, the Lausanne court once again rejected a request from USM Alger to suspend the Confederation Cup final, pending the conclusion of arbitration proceedings with CAF in the RS Berkane affair.^[30][31]

Subsequent events

The Sahrawi Football Federation has broken its silence regarding the jersey crisis. The Western Sahara Sports Federation described the actions of RS Berkane as a Moroccan maneuver aimed at legitimizing the occupation through sport and achieving political objectives far from the sporting domain. According to Article 50 of the Olympic Charter (paragraph 2), no kind of political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda is permitted in an Olympic venue, site or other location.^[32][33]

On April 23, 2024, Algeria men's under-17 handball team withdrew from the match against Morocco during the Arab Youth Championship organized in Morocco. The Algerian Handball Federation decided to withdraw after confirming that Morocco would participate with a jersey bearing the map including Western Sahara.^[34][35]

On April 28, 2024, the Algerian Gymnastics Federation officially announced the withdrawal of its national teams, men and women, from the upcoming African Nations Championship, which will be held in Marrakesh, Morocco. According to the press release published on the official page of the relevant sports authority, the Algerian delegation did not obtain the necessary authorizations from the Ministry of Youth and Sports to travel to Morocco. The MJS had decided to freeze Algeria's participation in all sporting events in which Moroccan teams would participate, waiting for the International Olympic Committee to put matters into context and put them into practice. As a reminder, Algeria was to take part in these African artistic gymnastics championships, qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.^[36]

The Algerian Olympic Committee officially contacted the International Olympic Committee to denounce the multiple violations committed by Morocco after the RS Berkane affair and what happened during the Arab Under-21 Handball Championship. The request presented by the AOC is essentially based on the provisions of Article 52 of the Olympic Charter, which refers to the prohibition of any practice. political, religious or racist advertising slogan during various sports competitions. The AOC clearly indicated that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a state in itself recognized by the African Union and that the issue is still pending at the level of the United Nations.^[37]

On ON Time Sports channel, Fouzi Lekjaa president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and member of the FIFA executive committee, confirmed that he does not intervene in any way in the appointment of referees for Moroccan club matches at the club championship level or for the Moroccan national team through the continental championships through its influence within the Confederation of African Football. Lekjaa said “If I had been responsible for appointing the referees, the club to which I belong RS Berkane, would have won all the major championships on the African continent”.^[38][39]

I have been president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for 7 or 8 years. I have never spoken to CAF about the appointment of a referee to direct a match of a Moroccan club or national team. He said that if I had been responsible for appointing referees, the club I belong to, RS Berkane, would have won all the major championships on the African continent, and the Moroccan national team would have also won the Africa Cup of Nations.^[39][38]

— Fouzi Lekjaa’s statement to On Time Sports

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