Algeria Cracks Down on Celebrations of Morocco’s World Cup Success

While the performances of the Atlas Lions have been hailed and celebrated in several capitals around the world, in Algiers it is a flat silence. And for good reason, a special device has been deployed to prevent any pro-Moroccan demonstrations in the context of the World Cup in Qatar, reports Maghreb Intelligence, citing local sources.

Absent from this major football event, Algeria refuses any solidarity with Morocco, which is currently impressing the football world. In this sense, the Algerian police have patrolled the most frequented or strategic boulevards of the capital Algiers on Tuesday, in anticipation of the Morocco-Spain match counting for the round of 16 of the competition.

Concretely, the agents were tasked with repressing any potential celebration of joy from Algerian supporters in favor of Morocco in the event of qualification for the World Cup 2022 quarter-finals in Qatar. It is not allowed for the population to celebrate a Moroccan sporting success despite the historical and geographical proximity that binds the two peoples, we are told.

Wearing the Moroccan national team jersey is also not tolerated and can also be equated with "a disturbance of public order," the same sources specify.