The Court of Arbitration for Sport rules in favor of Renaissance Sportive of Berkane

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rendered its verdict on the 2023-2024 CAF Confederation Cup semi-final match between Union Sportive de la Médina of Alger (USMA) and Renaissance Sportive of Berkane. The CAS upheld the semi-final scores in RS Berkane's favor, sustaining their win over USMA. In its decision, the CAS ruled that all matches played by Berkane, including the final two legs against Zamalek, stand and are not subject to any appeal.

RS Berkane, in absolute delight at the CAS ruling, issued a statement: "We have received, this Wednesday, February 26, 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision in the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final against USM Alger. The decision dismisses the Algerian club's request to cancel the result of the home and away matches and sanction RS Berkane." 

CAS rejected outright the appeal of USMA to annul the result of the home and away matches and thus upheld the result of the semi-final. The decision confirms Berkane's win in the semi-final since there were no grounds on which the CAS could annul the results. The tribunal also dismissed the appeal to sanction RS Berkane for having a map on the jersey design.

The CAS ruled that Berkane matches played in the said jersey are not nullified and confirmed Morocco is within its rights. This part of the ruling points out that the jersey design did not warrant any penalty action, thus allowing Berkane to retain their hard-won victories. 

The other points of the ruling included the fact that USMA had appealed for a replay of the match while the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) had appealed for the cancellation of the approval for the jersey with the map. Despite these two appeals being presented, CAS ruled in favor of USMA but upheld the match results, reinstating the validity of Berkane's participation and victories.

CAS also remarked that CAF ought not to have sanctioned a jersey bearing political symbols and directed this to CAF. There were no remarks or sanctions, though, against the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) or RS Berkane, affirming the ruling to let Berkane and FRMF go scot-free. 

CAF authorities likely have the CAS ruling on the agenda of their future sessions. The discussion might border on the meaning of the ruling and how it will affect future policy on wearing political messages on team jerseys during tournaments. In the meantime, RS Berkane fans can celebrate their team's win being confirmed and their rightful position in the tournament's final standings.