The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced in a press release published on Sunday that it’s investigating “political statements and events during the opening ceremony of TotalEnergies CHAN Algeria 2022”.

The statement likely refers to chants uttered at CHAN’s opening ceremony in Algeria, where onlookers repeated, “Give them bananas!” Moroccans are animals.

“These political statements are not the statements of CAF and do not reflect the views or opinions of CAF as a politically neutral organisation,” the statement said.

The confederation added that it will provide an update “in due course” and that it is under an obligation not to get involved in political matters.

The chants came after defending champions Morocco declined to take part in the competition due to Algeria’s refusal to grant permission to travel directly from Rabat to Constantine using the national airline Royal Air Morocco.

The president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Fouzi Lekjaa, had announced in December that if the team were not allowed to make the direct trip on a Royal Air Maroc flight, they would forfeit their participation.

Algeria has banned any Moroccan aircraft from entering its airspace since unilaterally severing ties with its neighbor in August 2021.

On Friday, the Moroccan team was ready to board their flight from Rabat-Salé International Airport, but was ultimately unable to make the trip as clearance from Algeria was never received.

In Group C, Morocco were supposed to face Sudan at Stade Mohamed-Hamlaoui on Sunday, but the match did not take place due to these issues.