The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has upheld an appeal by the Algerian Football Federation (Faf) against the decision to allow a Moroccan club to wear a shirt displaying an extended map of the country.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) had approved RS Berkane’s kit to be worn in continental competition, despite the fact the map included the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
The design is seen as a political provocation in Algeria and caused a row which saw both legs of last season’s Caf Confederation Cup semi-final tie between Berkane and Algerian club USM Alger called off.
A Caf disciplinary committee awarded Berkane two 3-0 victories, and Caf subsequently dismissed an appeal from USM Alger.
The Algerian club and Faf took the case to Cas, which has ruled the shirts are contrary to Caf regulations and the laws of world governing body Fifa and annulled the decision by the Caf appeals body to maintain the approval of the shirts.
USM Alger hailed a “well-deserved victory” that “enhances the team’s rights and supports the principles of sports justice” in a post on social media.
Caf has been contacted for comment.
What did Cas rule?
Cas determined the extended map on Berkane’s shirt depicts “a message, a demonstration or propaganda of a political nature” as it represents “the assertion of a territorial dispute that is contested and still unresolved”.
The Lausanne-based body also stated that, under Caf’s regulations and Fifa laws, it is prohibited to convey any content of a political nature on all equipment.
The Cas decision included the assertion Caf “is bound to respect and implement the duty of political neutrality”.
The outcome of the case will have no bearing on the final result of the 2023-24 Confederation Cup, which was won by Egyptian club Zamalek after Berkane received their walkover to the final.
USM Alger and Berkane could meet again in the semi-finals of this season’s competition.
Why is the extended map controversial?
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption:Â RS Berkane took to the pitch for the second leg of last year’s Confederation Cup semi-final tie but USM Alger did not emerge from their dressing room
Algeria and Morocco share a nearly 2,000 km (1,242 miles) border, which has been a source of tension since independence from French colonial rule.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries are also frosty and the long-running dispute about Western Sahara, a sparsely-populated territory annexed by Morocco in 1975, has also strained relations.
Its indigenous Sahrawi people, led by the Polisario Front and with a government in exile in Algeria, mounted a 16-year-long insurgency that ended with a United Nations-brokered truce in 1991.
The extended map of Morocco, including the territory of Western Sahara, does not correspond to official cartography of the country as published by the UN.
Berkane had their shirts confiscated by customs officials on arrival in Algeria for the first leg of their Confederation Cup clash last April and refused to wear an alternative shirt.
USM Alger declined to take to the pitch in the second leg in Morocco.
The extended map has also caused issues in other sports, as Algeria withdrew from the Arab Youth Handball Championship last year because the Moroccan side were “wearing shirts with political connotations”.