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Rabat – Achraf Hakimi’s recent interview with the French media outlet L’equipe sparked controversy and attracted the attention of the far-right party of France.
Hakimi explained in the interview that one of the reasons for his ease of adjusting to his new team is the size of the Arab and Muslim communities in France, which makes it easy for him to adjust.
“One of the reasons I came to Paris is the Arab Muslim community here. I knew that from a cultural point of view, I was going to feel at home,” he told the French media outlet.
The statement, however, angered the far-right party which has long thrived on stigmatizing and discriminating against migrants.
French activists known for their anti-immigration stance disapproved of his statement
Samuel Lefont, a French activist, used Twitter to revive the debate on immigration, followed by the National Rally (RN) member Julien Odoul who called for the end of immigration, emphasizing that when foreigners feel “at home” in France, French people feel like “foreigners in their own country.”
Internet users responded to the tweet with mixed reactions, while some agreed on what he said, others, like the podcast football host Said Amdaa, tweeted, “I hope that foreigners, regardless of their nationality, would feel at home in France.”
In response to Odoul, Amdaa added in the same tweet, “With only 5 games played so far, Hakimi has done more for France than you did at 36 years old.”
The incident is not the first time Odoul attacked footballers with North African origin. In 2019, he said it is better for Nigeria to win over Algeria during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) final between the two countries, claiming that “a victory for Algeria would have resulted in a night of violence from the Algerian community in France.”
Netizens were quick to put Odoul and other far-right supporters to their place, reminding them that French football owes its fame to foreign players, and many of them are from a north African origin and an immigrant background such as Zinedine Zidane, Mustapha Ben M’barek, Thuram and Kopa.
This is not the first time for the international Moroccan player to be in the center of a heated debate as he was also targeted by the audience in Tel Aviv, Israel during his debut game with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Trophee Champions against Lille.
Hakimi’s history of supporting the Palestinian cause on his social media was not appreciated by the large crowd in Tel Aviv.
Despite being provoked, booed, and jeered every time he touches the ball, Hakimi maintained a good attitude and high performance levels.
As nobody expected the game to be overtaken by political concerns, Hakimi received numerous support from fans as well as from the French journalist, Hugo Guillemet.
“The match and its result take a back seat: strength in Achraf Hakimi. A player should never be whistled and booed for taking a stand for freedom. And we repeat ourselves, even if not surprised: disastrous choice of the LFP to organize its competition there [Tel Aviv],” said Guillemet on twitter.
The choice of holding the championship in Israel has been widely questioned.
Thomas Portes, specialist of the far-right and spokesperson for the “Generation.s” also tweeted, “Full support for Achraf Hakimi, PSG player, widely whistled by spectators in Tel Aviv because he supports the Palestinian people. And if not, we will continue to organize the #TropheeDesChampions while the Israeli government is practicing colonization?”
With right-leaning French people continue to escalate their efforts to reduce the number of Muslims and immigrants, anti-Islamophobia advocates in France carry on protests to fight against Islamophobia and to raise awareness of the negative stigma associated with Islam.
