Rabat—Jawad Badda is receiving overwhelming support from many Moroccan fans after facing a wave of insults in what fans are calling a ‘hostile online campaign’ following a recent match commentary on Morocco’s AFCON quarter-final win.
The whole debate started when a short clip of Badda’s commentary went viral online. He compared two Cameroonian players, Bryan Mbeumo and Karl Toko Ekambi, suggesting Mbeumo wasn’t as threatening to Achraf Hakimi as Ekambi usually is. For many Moroccan fans, this was just normal analysis. But for others, it crossed a line and sounded biased and not neutral.
Once the clip went viral, the conversation stopped being about what Badda actually said and turned into a personal attack on him. Moroccan fans pointed out that the situation spiraled into a wave of targeted insults, mostly from users in neighboring countries, which ended up triggering a massive show of support from people rushing to his defense.
Soon after, several Moroccan social media accounts started reporting rumors that beIN SPORTS had punished Badda by pulling him from Morocco’s next match. Even though nothing has been officially confirmed, the rumors really hit a nerve with fans, who are now calling out what they see as a total double standard in how different commentators are treated.
Some frustrated fans are pointing to past incidents as proof of bias. They bring up the fact that Algerian commentator Hafid Derradji has a history of making super controversial comments, like hinting that matches were fixed or harshly criticizing coaches, without ever getting publicly disciplined. Moroccan fans argue that when you look at those examples, the intense focus and scrutiny around Jawad Badda seem totally unfair and over-the-top.
Reactions online have been vocal and many called on fans to circulate the hashtag “We are all Jawad Badda” accusing the broadcaster of acting too quickly to the Moroccan commentator’s remarks while being more lenient with comments made by others.
To date, beIN SPORTS has not made any official announcement to confirm if Badda faced disciplinary action and the sports commentator himself hasn’t publicly commented on the drama.
