The dispute between Al-Hilal and Morocco’s Renaissance Berkane continues, following the Sudanese club’s complaint regarding the eligibility of player Hamza Al-Mousawi to participate in the African Champions League – an issue that has sparked widespread controversy within the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over the past few weeks.
Al-Hilal had sent five official statements to CAF between 23 March and 3 April, demanding an urgent investigation into Al-Mousawi’s participation, arguing that the player is not entitled to represent Renaissance Berkane in the current tournament.
Read: Diaz stands out: Arbeloa vents his anger at Real Madrid trio... and the punishment is immediate
Despite repeated correspondence, the club received no official response from the African federation, prompting it to issue a strongly worded statement criticising what it described as CAF’s “unacceptable administrative silence”.
In its latest statement, Al-Hilal emphasised that the lack of clarification from the parties concerned, foremost among them the player himself, makes it difficult to attend any hearing “in good faith”, calling on the African Football Confederation to issue a clear decision before the date of Renaissance Berkane’s upcoming match in the Champions League semi-finals.
In a new development, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that Thursday 9 April has been set as the official date for a hearing to consider Al-Hilal’s complaint against Renaissance Berkane, just two days before the first leg of the African Champions League semi-final between the Royal Army and Renaissance Berkane.
Read also: Real Madrid furious... 10 controversial decisions handed Barcelona the lead!
In its latest correspondence, Al-Hilal has called on CAF to issue a final decision before 6 April, or to postpone the match scheduled for 11 April until a final ruling is issued in the case, stressing that it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the matter is not dealt with with the required speed and transparency.