The federation said it had written to the CAF to ask it to uphold “all its responsibilities in the face of these flagrant transgressions that have no relation to the principles and values” of football. The United States in 2020 recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in a quid pro quo for re-establishing ties with Israel, to the chagrin of Algiers – which for decades has seen itself as North Africa’s main champion of the Palestinian cause. “We stand together to fight for the liberation of Palestine, ” Mandla Mandela also said in his speech. On Thursday, Morocco said it was pulling out of the tournament after Algeria refused to authorise a direct flight from Rabat.
Morocco condemns ‘provocative’ acts at Algeria football cupRabat is unhappy with comments made by Nelson Mandela’s grandson in which he called to ‘free’ Western Sahara. Morocco has decried “provocative” acts and “transgressions” at the opening of a regional football tournament in Algeria, a new episode in an ongoing political crisis between the North African neighbours. Rabat and Algiers are locked in a bitter rivalry partly over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where the Algerian-backed Polisario movement seeks an independence referendum. In a statement on Saturday, Morocco’s football federation slammed a “provocative and surreal speech” at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) opening ceremony on Friday in which the grandson of Nelson Mandela called to “free” the disputed territory.
Algeria - Wikipedia