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Doha – Algerian football club USM Alger is set to travel to Morocco today, to face RS Berkane in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final on Sunday. The team’s journey comes amidst a backdrop of controversy surrounding the first leg, which was originally scheduled to take place last Sunday in Algiers.
The USM Alger delegation will depart from Houari Boumediene International Airport in Algiers at 3:00 PM local time (14:00 GMT) on an Egyptian airline, heading towards the city of Oujda in northeastern Morocco, according to Algerian sources. The team will be staying at a hotel in the nearby coastal town of Saidia.
The decision to play the second leg in Berkane comes as USM Alger seeks to avoid additional sanctions from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which could include a ban from participating in African competitions for up to four years.
This follows a controversial incident in which Algerian authorities confiscated RS Berkane’s CAF-approved jerseys, citing the inclusion of a full map of Morocco on the kit.
In response to Algeria’s refusal to return the jerseys, CAF ruled that RS Berkane had won the abandoned first leg with a score of 3-0. Algeria has since lodged a complaint against CAF with FIFA’s ethics committee, accusing the governing body of African football of not adhering to its own regulations.
The Algerian Football Federation maintains that CAF’s decision is unfair to USM Alger, arguing that the laws regarding jerseys are clear.
The federation cites CAF’s competition regulations, which state that visiting teams must wear jerseys permitted by the host country and comply with the governing body’s rules. Additionally, the federation points to FIFA’s laws prohibiting the use of political, religious, or personal symbols on sports equipment.
