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Rabat- Hakim Benabdellah, president of Renaissance Berkane, has declared that the homeland is not negotiable and the map of Morocco is not up for discussion. He emphasized that the only solution to his club’s ordeal in Algeria is to allow them their jerseys approved by the Confederation of African Football three years ago.
“We will not propose other options, nor will we succumb to blackmail, because our land is not negotiable. The map of the Kingdom of Morocco is not up for discussion. Either we play with our jerseys on or we return to our homeland,” he said, as reported by the national team-focused website Al Montakhab.
Benabdellah added: “This is our right and we will not compromise. All Algerian options have been rejected. CAF has given guarantees in this regard, and if our jerseys are not released, we will return to our homeland.”
Earlier, the club president withdrew from the meeting with CAF officials at the airport in protest against the presence of Algerian security officials. His decision followed the Algerian officials’ refusal to leave the meeting, despite his request as a condition to proceed.
This development comes as RS Berkane delegation was refused entry into Algeria on Friday morning due to their jerseys featuring a complete map of Morocco, including its southern provinces.
The team agreed to CAF’s request and went to their hotel, in the hope of getting their full sports equipment by Saturday morning before their training session in Algiers.
Following hours of being stranded at the Houari Boumediene Airport, officials from RS Berkane football club left the airport as per the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) request.
According to Le360, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) is closely monitoring the situation and is prepared to arrange a private plane to bring back the RS Berkane delegation to Morocco if they do not receive their jerseys containing the complete map of the country.
