An African FA is reportedly unhappy with CAF after a ruling made concerning one of its clubs, and is said to be taking African football's governing body to FIFA as a result.
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Earlier this week, the Cairo-based institution made the bold decision to award RS Berkane a 3-0 win over USM Alger for the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup semi-final.
The match, which was supposed to be contested last Sunday at the Stade du 5 Juillet, was abandoned after the Moroccan side did not have the kits they arrived with to play in as they were confiscated by Algerian authorities upon their arrival in the country.
The Algerians' main point of contention was that Berkane's jerseys had an outline of the nation of Morocco on it, and included within that outline was a territory called Western Sahara.
This region has been highly politicised since the 1970s and because of the sensitivity pertaining to the region, Algerian authorities deemed it inappropriate that the Orange Boys display it on their kits.
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Berkane were not given back the original jerseys they arrived with and thus refused to take to the pitch, leading to the match's subsequent cancellation and the decision to give the Botola Pro side a resounding victory.
According to La Gazette Du Fennec, the Algerian Football Federation is not happy with CAF’s decision, with their president, Walid Sadi, taking the issue to FIFA's Ethics Committee as he believes that African football's governing body is in direct violation of FIFA statutes by legitimising Berkane's regalia.
As per the same report, FIFA's rules state that "a decorative element must not (…) represent the face or identity of a person, the shape of a country or territory or give the impression of it".
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World football's governing body rules are said to also state, relating to slogans, declarations, images, advertising, that: "The equipment must not present any slogan, inscription or image of a political, religious or personal nature. Players are not permitted to display slogans, messages or images of a political, religious, personal or advertising nature on their underwear other than the manufacturer's logo."
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