RS Berkane-USM of Algiers: in Morocco, we are tearing away the football jerseys of the discord with Algeria

White, black or orange, with the map of Morocco including Western Sahara across the chest: the jerseys of a Moroccan football club have been the subject of “overflowing passion” since a discord broke out with the Algeria, leading to the cancellation of two matches in one week. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” tells AFP Brahim Rabii, representative of the official distributor of RS Berkane jerseys, a town in the north-east of Morocco, close to the Algerian border.

On April 21, a match between RS Berkane and USM Algiers, the semi-final first leg of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup, was canceled at the last moment in the Algerian capital. On Sunday, the return match at Berkane was canceled as well, leading to RS Berkane’s automatic qualification for the final against Cairo club Zamalek in May.

Object of the dispute: the jersey of the Moroccan players, printed with the map of Western Sahara. This vast territory, a former Spanish colony, is approximately 80% controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria.

🇩🇿 🇲🇦 FLASH | While the USM team #Alger has just been eliminated by the #CAF for having declared forfeit against the RS #BerkaneAlgerian TV declares that#USMA was “qualified on the green carpet following the exhibition of political images on the part of the team of #RSB ». pic.twitter.com/32lqflzLBA

— La Revue Afrique (@larevueafrique) April 29, 2024

Algeria broke off its diplomatic relations with Rabat, its great regional rival, in 2021, in particular because of this issue which fuels regular tensions. “Moroccans show an overwhelming passion for the Berkane team jerseys. Their fervor does not tolerate any attack on the homeland or national territory,” says Mr. Rabii, in reference to Western Sahara, considered however by the UN as a “non-autonomous territory”, with a status yet to be determined.

In Berkane, Soufiane Al Korchi, another representative of the official distributor, notes that demand has “increased considerably in all (Moroccan) cities and even outside the country” since the dispute with Algeria.

“Political message”

The first episode of discord was the confiscation by Algerian customs officers, on April 19, of Berkane’s team jerseys upon his arrival in Algiers. The president of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), Walid Sadi, then announced the provision of “high quality jerseys”, without the Moroccan card, which the RS Berkane players refused to wear.

This had “an unexpected effect”, estimates Toufiq Jouit, a RS Berkane supporter met in an official club store in the Moroccan city, where jerseys sell from 200 dirhams (18.50 euros). “This incident propelled the jersey to the forefront of the international scene, arousing keen interest among football fans,” he told AFP.

Soufiane Al Korchi notes that the card was “an integral part of the official design for three years”: “this component is therefore not new, but rather an identity element which has accompanied the club for several years”.

During the first leg, CAF ruled in favor of the Moroccan club, pointing out that it had been playing in its jersey flocked with the same card since the start of the regional tournament, and awarded it a 3-0 victory by forfeit at the expense of the Algerian club. . This week, the FAF initiated a procedure to appeal the CAF sanction before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, arguing that the Cairo-based body had “validated the request of the Moroccan club, RS Berkane, to wear a jersey with a political message.”

In the meantime, RS Berkane is preparing for its final against the Egyptian rival. “It’s been almost 20 days since we played any matches or friendly matches” and “nothing replaces competition”, regretted his coach, Mouine Chaabani, determined to “compensate with training”.