Rabat – A 17-year old fan of AS FAR, going by the name Omar, was stabbed to death on Sunday May 15, reportedly at the hands of Maghreb Fez fans.
Omar was surrounded by fans of the club from Fez while going out for dinner with his friends, while wearing AS FAR clothes and accessories.
Law enforcement officials arrested eight individuals suspected of being involved in the crime, and fans of the Rabat club have called for harsh punishments to be handed down.
“Enough conflict, enough hate and maline, enough murder, enough bloodshed, enough misery for parents, enough prisons, enough vandalism,” Maghreb Fez’s official facebook page said in an eulogy for the fan.
Fans in Rabat have voiced similar sentiments, decrying the violence surrounding football games, which should instead be an outlet for healthy entertainment and friendly competition.
The killing comes as the latest event in a string of violence from sports fans over the last few months, reigniting the debate around civility and respect in sports, after fans returned to stadiums following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not a new problem
On March 12, law enforcement had to interfere during a game between AS FAR and Maghreb Fez devolved into clashes between fans from both teams. The violence resulted in the injury of more than 100 officers and 60 fans, and 160 arrests.
Most recently, law enforcement officers arrested nine individuals in Khouribga after sports-related acts of violence resulted in the injury of 27 police officers.
But the gruesome nature of Omar’s killing is now forcing fans, as well as officials from clubs and national organizations, to reckon with the re-emergence of the most hardcore fans, and the damage they do to the sport and society in general.
“Hooliganism,” and violence between fans is certainly not a new phenomenon. In 2016, Morocco saw what is commonly referred to as “Black Sunday.”
On March 19, 2016, The violence erupted during a match between Raja Casablanca and Chabab Rif Al Hoceima, with clashes between members of Green Boys and Ultras Eagles, two opposing groups of Raja fans.
Between rocks and fireworks being thrown across the stadium’s seats, as well as fights between armed intoxicated fans, the day ended with a deathtoll of two fans and dozens of injuries. The event has since stuck in Moroccans’ public consciousness as a symbol of the dangers of taking football fandom to the extreme.
What are the solutions?
Moroccan authorities have repeatedly upped security around stadiums, especially when rival teams with fans known to be extreme play each other.
Additionally, clubs have been fined in the past for failures to control their crowd, resulting in stadium bans for weeks on end.
Some have suggested that minors should not be allowed to go to stadiums unattended, and that security should be even more strict to prevent substance-use such as drugs and alcohol during the games.
Fireworks have also come under fire for being potentially dangerous during games. Some fans have gone as far as to throw them on the field itself, such as during a game in Agadir in March.
But although security in stadiums can be reinforced and arrests can be made, many agree that the problems stem from the larger fan culture surrounding the sport.
A big push has to be made to spread values of healthy competition and sportsmanship within the cultures of football fans, rather than tribalism and antagonism, fans and commentators have argued.
The phenomenon keeps cropping up again despite punishments and arrests, indicating a more deep-rooted social issue.
Others have pushed for the use of more positive incentives, such as rewarding clubs or fan groups that spread positive values, in a sort of carrot and stick approach.
Many have also blamed the rise of extreme fan groups such as Ultras to the importing of foreign concepts that are replicated by Moroccan football fans.
“These ideas have been imported and integrated in Moroccan fans,” Moroccan journalist Mounir Oubri said following the 2016 Black Sunday, referring to the Ultras phenomenon. “As a result we have now seen killings and other practices that are related with these foreign ideas.”
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