The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) has confirmed receiving today a copy of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding the match between USM Alger and RS Berkane.
CAF has decided to “penalize the Algerian club with a forfeit of 0-3 and to maintain the return match at the municipal stadium of Berkane next Sunday,” the Moroccan federation explained in its statement.
FRMF also said that a CAF club commission decided to refer the matter to the disciplinary committee for possible additional sanctions against Algerian authorities.
The decision comes after the Algerian authorities confiscated late last week the jerseys of RS Berkane for featuring the full map of Morocco, preventing the Moroccan club from playing a CAF Confederation Cup semifinal match.
Despite CAF’s announcement that the jerseys were legitimate, Algerian authorities refused to allow the team to play the semi-final first leg with their official equipment.
Many have described the Algerian decision as part of Algeria’s smear campaign challenging Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
