Rabat – The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF)’s ethics committee announced that it would be suspending ten club officials from football activities on the heels of match fixing scandals.
First among the banned individuals are Abdellah Karim Kazouz, president of the Oujda Islamic Union, and Salami Al Athimi, secretary of Chabab Benguerir.
They were banned for five years from engaging in the sport and fined MAD 150,000 ($15,000) each.
Abderrazak Al-Manfalouti, president of Casablanca’s Athletic Union and Ibrahim Falaki, spokesperson for Olympique Asfi were fined MAD 20,000 ($2000) each and banned for one year.
Four others, all high ranking members of the Fes-Meknes regional league, were banned for a year, with a fine of MAD 10,000 ($1000) each.
The federation recently summoned the President of Youssoufia Berrechid Noureddine El Baidi for investigations into similar match fixing accusations, after he was caught on tape admitting to having fixed a match in the Moroccan league.
“I fixed a match for you in the second division, Amimi,” El Baidi was heard saying to AS FAR player Abdelilah Amimi in a viral video, following his club’s defeat against Amimi’s.
While some football fans see match-fixing as a “normalized” habit that’s become another part of the sport in Morocco, others have urged FRMF to give it more attention, saying it’s an overlooked issue.
The issue is not a new one in Moroccan football, as there have been several similar investigations in the past, as recently as 2017.
Even big clubs on the national scene such as Casablanca’s Raja and Wydad have been embroiled in such scandals before.
Football fans continue to hope that the FRMF will open a discussion about corruption in Moroccan football, and implement measures to combat it long-term.
