Moroccan World Cup Star Amallah Sidelined by Belgian Club Amid Transfer Dispute

While his contract with Standard de Liège runs until June, Selim Amallah is expressing his desire to leave the Belgian club. The club management, who do not see it that way, are excluding him from the core group. "We have decided that Selim Amallah will play with the club’s reserve team, like three other players. And we won’t do anything to increase their market value," announced the president of Standard de Liège, Pierre Locht.

A decision that affects the 26-year-old player who, after his brilliant participation in the World Cup, is in demand and could interest several clubs. Standard de Liège president Pierre Locht tried to justify Selim’s sidelining. "Standard will not do the work for another club. It’s not up to us to create added value for players who will leave for free," he said in a recent interview. According to him, this would be "the death of the club".

"Selim was one of our best players in the matches he played, until we excluded him from the group [...] The club is the boss, not the player, not the coach, not the staff. The club determines the direction," laments Ronny Deila, Standard de Liège’s coach, in an interview, deploring "a really sad thing".

On social networks, Internet users are defending the Atlas Lion, with hashtags #SelimAmmallah or slogans like Free Selim Amallah.