Fez – The list of beIN Sports journalists to cover the round of 16 games of the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Cameroon does not include the name of controversial Algerian commentator Hafid Derradji.
The move appears to be a disciplinary decision against the Algerian sport commentator for sparking a popular backlash after insulting Moroccans, especially Moroccan women, in the aftermath of Algeria’s disqualification from the African tournament.
Derradji faced a barrage of angry reactions for insulting a Moroccan woman on Twitter.
Shortly after Cote d’Ivoire beat and eliminated Algeria’s football team from the 2021 AFCON on January 20, the controversial beIN journalist sent an angry message to the Moroccan woman, labeling her and other Moroccan women as “prostitutes.”
The woman shared a screenshot of her uncomfortable social media interaction with Derradji.
Read also: BeIN Sports Continues To Turn Blind Eye to Derradji’s Insults Against Moroccans
“The whole world knows that you [Moroccans] are sons of a b**. When we say a Moroccan woman, we say b** and when we say a Moroccan man, we say son of a b**. The latest figures claim that 50% of Moroccans are bastards,” Derradji said, according to the widely circulated screenshot.
The Algerian journalist tried to deny that he had made such derogatory comments, but the woman shared a video on social media documenting that he was indeed the one who sent those insulting words.
The news sparked outrage and criticism from Moroccans and commenters from other countries.
A hashtag, “#Derradji_out,” stormed Moroccan social media platforms as many called on beIN Sports to take serious action against the vociferously anti-Morocco commentator.
Notorious for his hostile comments toward Morocco, Derradji does not limit himself to commenting on football games. Even when commenting on games with no immediate or direct connection to Algeria-Morocco relations, the Algerian commentator manages to give vent to his usual Morocco-bashing.
Following Derradji’s latest controversial remarks about Moroccans, Morocco’s Lawyers Club filed a complaint against the beIN Sports journalist with the Qatari attorney general Issa bin Saad AlJafali Alnuaimi.
Many Moroccan journalists working Aljazeera and beIN Sports have also denounced Derradji’s “attacks on Moroccan women honor and the dignity of Moroccan society.”
