The Moroccan outfit landed at Houari Boumediene Airport, but upon arrival in Algiers, their kits were allegedly seized and confiscated because it displayed an outline of Morocco, including the disputed Western Sahara. The Western Sahara is a territory on the northwest coast of Africa that is being fought over by Morocco and a rebel Sahrawi nationalist liberation group named Polisario Front. Algeria backs the latter’s efforts to drive out Morocco, causing strain on their relations. The Algerian Football Federation (FAF) refused to return Berkane’s kits ahead of a crucial match.
CAF had approved the jerseys before the season and rejected the FAF’s appeal before the match. However, even after CAF’s decision and Berkane’s arrival at the Stade du 5 Juillet, they were not given their original kits. As a result, Berkane did not take to the pitch, and the match did not take place. This led to CAF releasing a statement stating that the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup first leg semi-final fixture between USM Alger and RS Berkane in Algiers, Algeria did not take place as scheduled on April 21, 2024.