Algeria: Match off over Western Sahara shirt dispute
A high-profile football match in Algeria, which was scheduled to take place on the evening of Sunday 21 April, was cancelled over a Western Sahara related dispute, BBC News reported.
Moroccan giants Renaissance Berkane traveled to the Algerian capital to play USM Alger in the semi-final first leg of the African Confederation Cup, essentially the club football equivalent of the AFCON, however the match could not go ahead as the Moroccan side refused to change their jerseys which displayed the entire map of Morocco, including the disputed territory of the Western Sahara.
The controversial shirt design outraged dozens of Algerians, including the country’s football federation (FAF), media outlets and the USM Alger sporting director Toufik Korichi.
The two countries have long been at each other’s throats with regards to the issue of the territory, 80% of which is under Moroccan rule. As part of the Abraham Accords, signed in late 2020, outgoing US President Donald Trump recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara.
The fate of the disputed territory is supposed to be decided via a referendum and a vote on the issue was set to be held back in 1992 but this was pushed back due to concerns over voter eligibility and has since been postponed on countless occasions.
It was indeed the USM Alger’s sporting director that announced to the country’s media that the game could not be played.
Berkane’s, who most recently won the competition in 2022, shirts were seized by customs officers when the squad arrived in Algeria on 19 April, uniquely due to them bearing the map of Morocco, including the Western Sahara.
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A day prior to the much-anticipated clash, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) dismissed an appeal against the shirts by the Algerian football federation, noting that the Moroccan club had been wearing them since the very start of their Confederation Cup campaign.
The Algerian Football federation’s President Wafi Sadi said that Berkane were given the opportunity to wear alternative “high quality” strips, an offer quickly snubbed by the club.
Renaissance Berkane President Hakim Benabdellah said that his team will continue wearing the jerseys that they have played in throughout the season and hinted that the fixture won’t be played if a compromise is not reached.
“There will be no debate on this subject. There will be no match without shirts with the complete map of the Kingdom of Morocco.” he said.
The in doubt second leg of the semi-final is scheduled to be held in Berkane in just under a week (Sunday 28 April).
In the other semi final, Egyptian side Zamalek hosted Ghana’s Dreams FC as both teams failed to break the deadlock in Cairo. The return leg will be played on 28 April (16:00 local time) in Ghanian capital Accra.
BBC News
