Hakim Ziyech & Chaos in Rabat: This Week In Middle Eastern Football

The matches between FAR Rabat and Raja Casablanca are known to have explosive potential.

This is exactly what happened yesterday, in the Bototla Pro Matchday 15.

During the match, after FAR scored, there was a festive atmosphere as FAR fans have produced a unique pyro display.

During this extreme minutes of pyrotechnics use and celebration, while the army and police entered the scenario and the referee has stopped the match, and one cameraman has got injured in his head.

The injured cameraman during FAR v Raja game (Source: Twitter)

The injured cameraman during FAR v Raja game (Source: Twitter)

Since that evening, testimonies and reports about what happened outside Stade Prince Moulay Abdullah were gathered.

According to reports, after the league fixture between FAR Rabat and Raja Casablanca, a huge riot occurred between the two sets of fans and later on with the police. A few sources have told BabaGol that the main clash was between Raja fans and the policemen on the way out of the stadium. While there was one source that testified there were “around 58 injured policemen”, the majority testified that there were 22 injuries, 13 arrested, all over - fans, policemen and firefighters.

While many fans have compared the events to a Moroccan version of ‘Port Said’ disaster, Other sources claimed that compared to past brawls in the Clasico of Morocco, this time things were not as bad.

Benjamin Hajji of Maghrib Foot has described the event as ‘despicable’.

One way or another, Moroccan football reality is passionate as it gets, yet incidents as such are not a good look for the local football scene, which took Egypt’s spot as the main stage of African club football.

THE BIGGEST MOROCCAN TRANSFER EVER

Morocco was once again in the headlines, as the football world was hit by a dramatic announcement by Ajax Amsterdam, that the club’s leading star - Hakim Ziyech - has signed with Chelsea. The 26-year-old will move to Stamford Bridge at the end of the season for an initial €40m (£33.3m) fee. However, the deal could rise to €44m (£36.7m) after add-ons. Chelsea has confirmed that the move is still subject to personal terms being agreed.

It is by far the biggest transfer in Moroccan football, after Medhi Benatia and Marouane Chamakh.
Now the Premier League will enjoy another North African talent, with Mohamed Salah in Liverpool, Riyad Mahrez in Manchester City and Ziyech in Chelsea.