Moroccan volleyball players vanish Netherlands mystery

The two minors, identified as Bayadi and Al-Bayari, play respectively for Moghreb Tétouan and FUS Rabat. They had joined the Netherlands with the Moroccan delegation to prepare for the competition.

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After checking in at the hotel, the two players reportedly left with their personal belongings. The same day, they allegedly posted a message on Instagram locating them in downtown The Hague, according to information gathered from other team members.

They subsequently returned neither to the hotel nor to the official tournament registration. The Moroccan delegation then alerted the Dutch Volleyball Federation, which contacted the police.

The lead pointing to Spain

Police officers attempted to reach the parents of the two teenagers, but without success, a spokesperson for the Dutch federation told Telegraaf.

Federation representatives later learned that the two players may have joined relatives living in Spain. This lead remains however a hypothesis and their location has not been officially confirmed.

The matter is causing a major controversy in Morocco. The Royal Moroccan Volleyball Federation is accused of attempting to keep silent about their disappearance. The delegation was reportedly supervised by a former international player, but no official federation representative accompanied it.

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A comparable episode had already occurred in 2021, when three Moroccan players from the under-21 volleyball national team disappeared during a world championship organized in Italy.