Spanish Court Rejects Asylum Claim by Moroccan Who Destroyed His Passport After Flying to Madrid via U20 World Cup

Three passengers without identity documents, a flight from Chile and an asylum claim filed after a tense police check. On October 22, 2025, two days after the Atlas Cubs’ historic triumph at the U20 World Cup, police at Madrid-Barajas Airport intercepted three travelers who had arrived from Santiago on a LATAM aircraft. One of them said he was Moroccan and from Casablanca. He had destroyed his passport before seeking international protection in Spain.

The man told the Spanish authorities that he had arranged his departure to coincide with the U20 World Cup, held in Chile from September 27 to October 19, 2025. He said he had learned that Royal Air Maroc was offering financial assistance to supporters wishing to travel with the Moroccan team and had taken advantage of a transport offer linked to the tournament.

According to his statements, the trip cost him 10,000 dirhams, paid for with his savings. He said he chose this route because he knew it would allow him to reach Madrid, where he planned to seek asylum. The offer and the circumstances of his journey are presented in the case file as his own claims.

His plan, however, ran into Spanish police. On their arrival at Barajas, the three travelers were found to have no documents. They refused to accompany the officers tasked with identifying them. Two of them resisted sufficiently for officers to handcuff them.

It was only after being taken to police premises that the three passengers requested international protection.

Three travelers, similar accounts and the same lawyer

The applicant says he left Morocco because he feared persecution there on account of his homosexuality. He says he had always hidden his sexual orientation from his family, fearing rejection and the criminal penalties he could face.

But investigators and judges noted several unusual features. The two other travelers who arrived on the same flight had also filed asylum claims citing fears related to homosexuality in Morocco. The three men took similar steps and chose the same lawyer, whose phone number they already knew.

In its ruling of July 2, 2026, the Audiencia Nacional found that these similarities were evidence of a coordinated effort.

The destruction of the passport also weighed in the judges’ assessment. Without the document, it was impossible to verify the applicant’s identity, nationality and previous travels. The court also noted that he had not sought asylum during his stay in Chile, a signatory to the Geneva Convention.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had nevertheless recommended that the Spanish authorities conduct a new interview. The agency considered the initial questions insufficient to assess the personal risks cited and noted that same-sex relations are criminalized in Morocco, where convictions had been documented.

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Spain’s Interior Ministry rejected the claim on October 27, 2025, and confirmed its refusal three days later. After the applicant appealed, the Audiencia Nacional found that his account did not contain enough individualized details to establish the persecution he feared. It upheld the rejection of asylum and subsidiary protection.

The July 2, 2026, ruling also ordered the applicant to pay legal costs, capped at 1,500 euros, subject to any applicable legal aid. As for what happened to him after he was refused entry in Madrid, the judgment does not establish whether he was returned to Morocco or is still in Spain.