Moroccan Handball Stars Vanish in Italy: World Championship Rocked by Suspected Illegal Immigration Plot

The goalkeeper Oussama Hakaoui and his teammate Moubarak Messaoudi, players of Ittihad Nouacer, one of the most prominent handball clubs in Morocco, have left the hotel where the team is staying in Bologna, Italy, without giving any news.

Sources within the Moroccan delegation have confirmed that the two players had exchanged phone calls with members of their respective families, shortly before their disappearance. This suggests that they had prepared their move to stay illegally in Europe, as their visas had already expired.

The same sources added that all attempts to locate the two missing players have remained in vain. A situation that has put the Moroccan delegation on alert, forcing the administrative staff to strengthen the supervision of the other members of the team to avoid other disappearances.

The disappearance of Hakawi and Messaoudi recalls that of the player Zoubida El-Bastali when she was with the Moroccan women’s football team in France. The Atlas Lion handball players will go to Poland to play their next match, after a victory against Mexico and two defeats against Denmark and France in the group stage.