The president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaa, has announced that he will appeal the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after Morocco’s non-participation in the African Nations Championship (CHAN).

The national team of the local team had not been able to participate in the last edition of the CHAN, because Algeria had not opened its airspace to Morocco. Although CAF ruled in favour of Morocco, the body did not point the finger of blame. Fouzi Lekjaa has indicated that he will appeal the decision.

Indeed, CAF’s disciplinary panel met to deliberate on the case submitted to it by the CHAN 2022 Organising Committee, following the non-appearance of the Moroccan team in Algeria for the tournament and the statement made during the CHAN opening ceremony.

In its decision, the disciplinary panel concluded that the FRMF should not be sanctioned, rejecting the Algerian Football Federation’s claim for damages.

On the issue of the statement made during the opening ceremony of the CHAN on 13 January 2023 by Zwelivelile Mandela, grandson of the South African leader, Nelson Mandela, CAF considered that “the Algerian Football Federation should not be held vicariously liable, and that the provisions of strict liability could not be foreseen and should not apply after the statement made by Zwelivelile Mandela during the opening ceremony of the CHAN.

Speaking to Radio Mars, Lekjaa said he was ” unsatisfied ” with CAF’s decision, saying it had not mentioned anyone responsible for Morocco’s non-participation and that a call to order for the FAF following the hateful comments made against the Kingdom was not enough.

“We are not satisfied with CAF’s decision and we will appeal. CAF has confirmed that Morocco is not responsible for its non-participation in the CHAN but it did not mention who is responsible,” he said, referring to the African body’s decision not to sanction Algeria.

“It is unreasonable that our team is prevented from defending its title and Moroccan fans are insulted with obscene and racist language at the opening ceremony and in the presence of senior CAF officials while allowing a person without legitimacy to speak. A speech that carries hatred and targets us, and after that these decisions are made,” he continued.

“These are unfair decisions, we will not remain silent and I have contacted our legal advisory body to appeal the decision, and it will be done,” he assured, saying he will not make any concession after being treated unfairly.

Read Also: CHAN 2022: The CAF does not sanction Morocco

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided not to sanction the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF) after the U23 Atlas Cubs were forced to withdraw from the CHAN 2022 in Algeria.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has decided not to sanction the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) after the U23 Atlas Cubs were forced to withdraw from the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

The disciplinary committee of the pan-African body considers that the FRMF is not responsible for the situation in which it found itself. Morocco could not defend the title of which it is double holder.

CAF Disciplinary Board Outcome on CHAN matters involving Algeria Football Federation and Royal Moroccan Federation https://t.co/kVFRp6NUDX

— CAF Media (@CAF_Media) March 4, 2023

If the contrary had been proven, the FRMF would have been fined 150,000 dollars and would have been absent from the next two editions of the CHAN.

As a reminder, the FRMF never received the approval of the Algerian authorities for its direct Rabat-Constantine flight, operated by RAM (official carrier of the national teams).

On 13 January, the members of the national delegation spent several hours waiting at Rabat-Salé airport.

The Federation had however been informed on 22 December by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), as the body in charge of organising the CHAN, that an authorisation in principle had been obtained following its request.

Read Also: CAF to investigate political remarks made during the CHAN opening ceremony

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Morocco requested that its team fly directly to the host nation to compete in the African Football Championship (CHAN) 2023, and Algeria’s football organization has stated that it will communicate its decision “through official channels.”

Algeria will host this year’s CHAN from January 13 to February 4.

Speaking on Tuesday, Sebgag reminded that, in response to Morocco’s request, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) “seized” the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) last week.

“The FAF will reply to the CAF through official channels. He made an allusion to Algeria’s rejection of the Moroccan request and stated that the country’s laws and sovereignty came first.

In an earlier letter to Algerian authorities and CAF, Morocco’s football federation (FRMF) emphasized that the national team will only compete in CHAN if Algeria’s government permits a direct aircraft to transport them from Rabat to Constantine.

If its plea is not granted, the North African nation has stated that it will boycott the competition.

Sebgag’s statement, in the words of Algerian media source TSA, “signifies Algeria’s unwillingness to permit a direct Royal Air Maroc service between Rabat and Constantine.”

Morocco’s appeal was echoed by the head of the FRMF, Fouzi Lekjaa, who also emphasized that Algeria “shall” take all necessary steps to make it easier for nations to participate in the competition.

Algeria has already hinted that it won’t allow Morocco’s proposal to open the restricted airspace between the two nations without outright rejecting it.

Rachid Oukali, the chairman of the organizing committee for the CHAN, stated last week that his nation is “not responsible for assuring the availability of a direct path for the participating teams.”

The official from Algeria also stated that “most of the African nations that will visit Algeria will make stopovers.”
The head of the Moroccan football association emphasized in reaction to Oukali’s comments that Morocco had not “asked Algeria to supply us with a private airplane or anything.”

Lekjaa pointed out that Morocco’s proposal just aimed to emphasize the significance of granting Royal Air Maroc—the country’s official airline—permission to fly the national team straight to the host nation.

Algeria closed its airspace with Morocco in 2021 after cutting diplomatic relations with the North African kingdom, which it falsely accused of “conspiring to undermine Algerian interests.”

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Morocco says it still hasn’t gotten an official response from either Algeria or the Confederation of African Football about its request for its squad to fly straight to the Algerian city of Constantine for the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN) (CAF).

Due to Algeria’s travel restrictions on flights from Morocco, the North African nation of Morocco’s Football Federation (FRMF) said last week that it was thinking about boycotting the continental competition.

The federation said that it will only take part in the competition provided a direct flight is available from Rabat to Constantine, the location in northeastern Algeria where the Moroccan team will play its group matches.

At a news conference on December 29, the president of the FRMF, Fouzi Lekjaa, reaffirmed Morocco’s appeal, stressing that the host nation “shall” implement all measures to make it easier for nations to participate in the competition.

Morocco Is Not in a Rush
The request from Morocco has still not received a response, according to a FRMF source reported on Monday by the Moroccan news portal Le360.

However, the source added, “We don’t want to rush things. We are being patient while expecting the Algerian authorities’ reaction. Today, according to convergent reports, Algeria “formally” rejected Morocco’s proposal.

It is not surprising that a senior member of the Algerian organizing committee for CHAN stated last week that it is not the host nation’s responsibility to respond to Morocco’s request.

Rachid Oukali, the director of the CHAN organizing committee, stated last week that Algeria is “not responsible for assuring the availability of a direct route for the participating teams.” This was in response to news that Morocco had requested permission for its team to travel straight to Algeria.

According to the Algerian official, “the majority of the African nations that will travel to Algeria will make stopovers.”

In response, FMRF’s president, Fouzi Lekjaa, maintained Morocco’s request for permission for a special Royal Air Maroc flight to take the Moroccan national team to the Algerian city where they are scheduled to play.

“The official airline for Morocco is Royal Air Maroc. We have asked for permission to allow Royal Air Maroc to transport the national team directly to the host country. We have not asked Algeria to provide us with a private flight or anything of that sort,” he stressed.

Political Context
Following the Algerian government’s decision to sever diplomatic ties with Morocco, which was announced in August 2021, there have been difficult relations between Algeria and Morocco.

To maintain regional stability, Morocco has repeatedly appealed for de-escalation of the conflict and “brotherly discussion,” but the Algerian leadership has steadfastly refused to listen.

Instead, a diplomatically weakened and economically struggling Algerian leadership has turned hostilities against Morocco into a rallying cry, according to numerous analysts in recent months.

It appears that the plan is to depict Morocco as an existential danger to Algerian interests and security. Abdelmadjid Tebboune , the president of Algeria, eloquently stated in an interview last week that his country severed ties with Morocco “to prevent going to war.”

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The FRMF ‘s Board of Directors unanimously decided not to send the national team on a special flight operated by Royal Air Morocco (RAM), the game’s official carrier, from Rabat to Constantine, where the national team’s games will be played, during the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN), which is scheduled to take place in Algeria from January 13 to February 4.

According to a statement from the FRMF, this decision was made during a meeting of the steering committee of the FRMF that was conducted on Tuesday at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé.

The FRMF requested that the Moroccan selection be moved via a special flight of Royal Air Morocco (RAM), the official carrier, from Rabat to Constantine, the city hosting the national eleven games, in a letter to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding the respect of the clauses of the specifications of the African competitions, particularly in terms of easing the conditions of the participating national teams, notes the same source.

The decision made at the most recent FRMF board, which allows for the participation of the Moroccan U23 selection in this competition, was also mentioned by the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Fouzi Lekjaa.

The FRMF board also decided that there won’t be any interruptions to the national championship games if the Moroccan team competes in the CHAN.

In addition to the African Football Championship, the FRMF board met to discuss the organizing of the Club World Cup, which will take place in Morocco from February 1–11, 2023, and the national team’s participation in the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

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