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Rabat – Algerian authorities at the Houari Boumediene airport confiscated the equipment of Moroccan club AC Wydad’s photographer, preventing him from documenting the Casablanca-based club’s performance during its match against Algeria’s JS Kabylie.
Moroccan journalist Youssef Belhaissi said on Twitter that Algerian authorities stripped Wydad AC’s media staff from their cameras, adding that the team was “harassed” upon their arrival at the airport.
Several Moroccans took to social media to condemn Algeria’s move. “Documented complaints should be registered with CAF [Confederation of African Football] to punish Algeria for mixing sports with politics,” a Moroccan Twitter user fumed.
Wydad AC arrived in Algeria Wednesday night for the game that will take place on Friday at 8:00 p.m. GMT+1, as part of the CAF Champions League.
Algeria closed its airspace to Morocco in September 2021, citing Rabat’s “continued Moroccan provocations and hostile practices.” Algeria’s airspace has remained closed since then, forcing Wydad AC to take a connecting flight from Tunisia.
The Moroccan National football team was absent from the previous African Nations Championship (CHAN) after Algeria rejected the Moroccan Royal Football Federation (FRMF) request to allow the national team to take a direct Royal Air Maroc (RAM) flight from Casablanca to Constantine, Algeria.
Read also: Moroccan Press Association Denounces Mistreatment of Moroccan Media Delegation in Algeria
Algiers also accused Morocco of being involved in the wildfires that engulfed Algeria’s Kabylie region in August 2021.
The poor treatment that Wydad AC received in Algeria was not the first incident of its kind. In October last year, a Moroccan delegation of journalists, who traveled to Algeria to cover the Arab League summit, suffered immense mistreatment from local authorities.
The Moroccan Association of Media and Publishers condemned the “pressures and harassment” that the Moroccan media delegation faced, saying that they were forced to leave Algeria due to “pressure, harassment, security investigations, and long waiting hours at Boumediene Airport.”
