Former Morocco Star Backs Algerian Rival for FIFA Council, Sparks Controversy

The former coach of Mouloudia d’Oujda did not hesitate to make comments on the rehabilitation of Kheireddine Zetchi, now in the running for the election of members of the FIFA Council. "I am personally very happy that this great man is back in the race for the ComEx election. An upright and intelligent man, a true football enthusiast who has succeeded in his life," he wrote on his Twitter account. According to him, the president of the FAF "is capable of bringing a real plus to football".

In another tweet, the former Atlas Lion stated that Zetchi is "capable of boosting African football through his integrity, honesty, humility, work values and above all his knowledge of the football ecosystem". He expressed his "unwavering support" for him and announced at the same time that "it would be a pride for him to become Algerian".

This support is not to the liking of Moroccan Internet users because Fouzi Lekjaa, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), is also a candidate. Some Moroccans tried to refresh Abdeslam Ouaddou’s memory by reminding him that it was Kheireddine Zetchi who had expressed his opposition to the organization, by Morocco, of the 2020 Futsal CAN in Laâyoune last year. Others told him that he should support his country and not Algeria. They did not hesitate to call him a "traitor".

Another point that annoys the Moroccans: the former coach of Mouloudia d’Oujda’s response to a question about the Sahara. "It is a vast geographical space that God has created on the African continent to live fraternally from the Atlantic to the Nile on the longitude and from the Mediterranean to the extreme south of the Tropic of Cancer on the latitude," he said on the same social network.