CAF officially awards RSB victory as USMA no-show for second leg

The members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Clubs Committee unanimously declared on Wednesday that Union Sportive de la Medina d'Alger (USMA) had forfeited the second leg of the CAF Cup semi-finals against Renaissance Sportive de Berkane (RSB). This means official victory for the Moroccan team (0-3), which was due to face the Algerian team on April 28.

In addition, the Clubs Committee decided to transfer the case to the CAF Disciplinary Committee, to study possible sanctions against USMA. Chapter XI of the Confederation Cup regulations (Forfeit, disqualification and waiver of right to play) states: «A forfeit declared by a team after having qualified for the quarter-final and semi-final matches shall entail, in addition to the loss of the entry fee, a fine of fifty thousand (50,000) US dollars».

On Sunday, April 28, USMA refused to show up for the match, following a dispute over the jerseys worn by RSB. During the first leg, the Algerian authorities confiscated the Moroccan team's shirts on arrival at the airport, only to offer them replacements without the full map of Morocco. This model, however, had not been authorized by the sports authorities. The CAF ordered the return of the seized kits, but the Algerian side refused to comply.

When RSB refused to adopt the unauthorized shirts, the first leg was cancelled. USMA received the same CAF sanction for the semi-final second leg as for the first leg.