A football jersey revives tensions between Morocco and Algeria

6 November 2024 – bySaid@Bladi · 1 min read

The decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to allow the Moroccan club Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RS Berkane) to wear a "controversial" jersey during the CAF Cup has caused an uproar in Algeria. The jersey in question displays a map of Morocco including the Sahara.

This approval was perceived as a political gesture in favor of Morocco by the Algerian authorities, reports the Fennec Football website. Yet, during the qualifying match against the Beninese club Dadjè, RS Berkane had played with a neutral jersey, without any political symbol. It is the authorization given by CAF for the group stage that has set the powder keg on fire.

Anticipating this problem, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) had alerted CAF as early as August, requesting explanations and recalling a similar incident that occurred the previous season. This letter remained unanswered.

The case will ultimately be settled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) in Lausanne, which will hear the parties on November 12.

Category: Sport

Keywords:

Football Algeria Berkane Moroccan Sahara