The first leg of the CAF Cup semi-finals was scheduled for Sunday April 21. In Egypt, Dreams FC managed to hold Zamalek to a 0-0 draw. The match between USM Alger and RS Berkane was cancelled due to the controversy surrounding the Moroccan club's shirt.
Zamalek draws with Dreams FC
In the first leg of their CAF Cup semi-final, Zamalek were not at ease when they hosted Dreams FC on Sunday April 21. The Egyptian club dominated the entire match, but failed to take the lead. With 63% possession and 25 shots attempted, Zamalek were very clumsy in the Ghanaian box. With a goalless draw (0-0), a different face is expected on the pitch of Dreams FC, who have the opportunity to create a feat next week for a place in the CAF Cup final.
After a major shirt controversy, the match between USM Alger and RS Berkane has been cancelled. The Moroccan club had warned that they would only play this CAF Cup semi-final with their jersey, and their threat was carried out. The problem was the presence of the map of Morocco on the jersey, with the inclusion of Western Sahara. However, Algeria supports the Polisario, which claims independence for this territory. Despite a special jersey in their dressing room designed by the Algerian authorities, RS Berkane went into the stadium and refused to leave the dressing room to play this match, informing CAF. A few minutes before kick-off, beIN Sports journalists broke the news of the match's cancellation.
On the USMA side, the president of the Algerian Football Federation, Walid Sadi, stuck to his guns and defended the home side."The match between USMA and Berkane will not be played. We will defend USMA's rights to the end," declared the president.
