Rabat – Walid Sadi, President of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), has decided to boycott tonight’s prestigious CAF Awards ceremony in Marrakech, in protest at the exclusion of Algerian football star Riyad Mahrez.
Sadi’s decision to skip the ceremony stems from his discontent with the exclusion of Mahrez, the captain of the Fennecs, from the final trio contending for the evening’s most coveted accolade, the “African Player of the Year” award.
Sadi, who reportedly informed CAF in advance of his absence, conveyed to El-Hayat media that fellow Algerians should join him in boycotting the ceremony in solidarity.
“Inch’Allah, no Algerian will attend the ceremony in solidarity with Mahrez,” he stated.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had officially announced on Thursday that the award would be contested among Paris Saint-Germain’s Moroccan right-back Achraf Hakimi, Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, and Nigerian Victor Osimhen, who plays for Napoli.
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Algerian fans have also complained about the absence of USM Alger from the finalists for the “Club of the Year” award and Fares Chaibi from the “Best Young Player” shortlist.
The “Club of the Year” category features Morocco’s Wydad AC, Egyptian club Al Ahly, and the South African Mamelodi Sundowns.
Morocco’s Abde Azzalzouli is facing off against Senegal’s Lamine Camara and Amara Diouf in the race for the “Best Young Player” award.
