HIBAPRESS – Chafiq Annouri
The Spanish Football Federation refused to comment on the protests that Morocco has been experiencing for over a week, demanding reforms in the health and education sectors, and the provision of job opportunities.
The Spanish newspaper "El Independiente" attempted to involve the football federation by exploiting some of the slogans raised in the Moroccan demonstrations, such as "Health first, we don't want the World Cup," to push it to comment on the matter. The newspaper, known for its hostility towards Morocco, said in a report that sources from the football federation confirmed that the institution "will not intervene in the matter," adding that "the file is now in the hands of FIFA," according to the website's claim. The aforementioned newspaper clarified that the Spanish Federation emphasized that "it has nothing to say in this regard," continuing that the International Federation of Football, for its part, ignored requests for comment addressed to it by "El Independiente". The newspaper sought to take the demonstrations in a number of cities in the Kingdom out of context and distort their demands, as it promoted that the youth were protesting against football projects, which is contrary to reality. The protesters are demanding that the health and education sectors be reformed, and job opportunities be provided, with the same speed as the construction of stadium projects and infrastructure that are part of the preparations to host the World Cup finals.
