The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Sunday January 15 that it would investigate after Nelson Mandela’s grandson called for support for Sahrawi separatists at the opening of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria, relaunching the crisis between Rabat and Algiers.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), which has given up sending its team to Algiers, had asked CAF, based in Cairo, to“assume all responsibility for these flagrant transgressions which have no connection with the principles and values of football”. She replied on Sunday that she was going “carry out investigations to establish whether and to what extent” these statements “violate the statutes and regulations of CAF and FIFA”. CAF “will report its findings in due course”continues the press release, which affirms in the immediate future that “These political statements are not those of CAF […] as a politically neutral organization”.
During the opening ceremony of CHAN, Mandla Mandela, supporter of the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, had called for “fight to liberate Western Sahara from oppression”qualifying this territory as “last colony in Africa”. Morocco immediately condemned “malicious acts” and “despicable maneuvers”. At the Nelson-Mandela stadium in Algiers, the anti-apartheid icon’s grandson also urged “liberate palestine”in an open criticism of Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel two years ago.
Anti-Moroccan “racist remarks”
Western Sahara, a national cause for the Cherifian kingdom, is a former Spanish colony that has been disputed for decades between Morocco and the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers. He is considered a “non-self-governing territory” by the UN. In its press release, the FRMF also denounced ” Racist Thoughts “ anti-Moroccans pronounced in the stadium during the opening ceremony. Videos circulating on social networks show Algerian supporters chanting slogans hostile to Moroccans.
After a tug of war, Morocco decided on Friday not to send its U23 team to compete in the CHAN, for lack of having received authorization from Algiers to fly there. Algiers closed its airspace on September 22, 2021 to all Moroccan civil and military aircraft after breaking diplomatic relations with Rabat.