CAF Fines Algerian Club $40,000 for Match Cancellations Against Moroccan Team

After examining the file, the CAF disciplinary committee imposed a fine of $40,000 on USM Alger, considering that the cancellation of the first and second leg matches between the Algerian club and RS Berkane has resulted in financial losses. The governing body of African football made this decision under the "abandonment of the game" provision in Article 148 of the disciplinary regulations, according to sources.

The disciplinary committee was initially supposed to rule on this case on May 15. But ultimately, the sanction against USM Alger came five months later. A meeting in Bangkok between the president of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), Walid Sadi, and the president of CAF, Patrice Motsepe, accompanied by his secretary general, Véron Mosengo-Omba, would have led to this delay.

The FAF and USMA had filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), asking for the annulment of the decision of the CAF Appeals Committee dated April 30, which declared the Algerian club the loser for the first and second leg matches against RS Berkane, counting for the CAF Cup semi-finals. In its decision rendered on May 10, the CAS rejected the request of the FAF and USM Alger.

On April 26, the court had also rejected an urgent request from the Algerian federation aimed at "immediately suspending" the execution of the CAF decision that had validated the RS Berkane jerseys, emblazoned with the complete map of Morocco including the Sahara. A request "rejected ex parte by the President of the CAS Appeals Chamber," the CAS said in a statement released on May 2.