MADRID – After the riots in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and especially in Brussels, the Spanish police are on extra alert now that the eighth final between Morocco and Spain has been played and Spain has to go home after a losing out on penalties. However, as we write, the images mostly show partying Moroccans in Spain.
From the moment Morocco scored its third penalty, and after Spain missed all three, social media has been dominated with images of ecstatically happy and celebrating Moroccan, singing and waving the Moroccan flag and sometimes with torches, gathering in the centre of their city.
Historic victory
Fans across Spain have taken to the streets to celebrate the historic fact that Morocco has reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time in 36 years. In contrast to the unrest in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, as well as in Brussels, the celebration in Spain has so far proceeded without any significant incidents.
Divided heart
The Moroccan community in Spain is large. There are 870,000 Moroccans living in Spain. Many of them were born in Spain. The newspaper El Mundo writes: ‘A generation with a divided heart: “We are Spaniards but we are for Morocco”. Two players of the Moroccan national team were also born and raised in Spain: Achraf Hakimi and Munir Mohammedi. A further 12 players of this team were not born in Morocco.
Related post: Spain prepares for possible riots after Morocco-Spain World Cup match
Singing and partying crowd
British journalist Matthew Bennett shares a video of partying Moroccans at the main square in Murcia on Twitter. A singing and flag-waving crowd celebrate. This was also the case at Puerta del Sol in Madrid and La Rambla in Barcelona, where some 2,000 people gathered. Multitudes of Moroccans celebrated Morocco’s historic triumph here.
⚽️ Los marroquíes 🇲🇦celebran su victoria contra España 🇪🇸 en el Mundial en Murcia. Alegría y cánticos y celebración. Cero problemas o violencia. pic.twitter.com/n4vtQimsHG
— Matthew Bennett (@matthewbennett) December 6, 2022
La Vanguardia writes that there was an incident in a bar in Huelva. A group of fans from Spain and Morocco started to fight, and tables and chairs were thrown. Consequently, several skirmishes ensued. However, there have been no reports of injuries.
Clashes between Spanish and Moroccan fans during the game between Spain and Morocco in a bar of Huelva, Southwestern Spain pic.twitter.com/3qE6bSeTyP
— Kevin smith (@KJ00355197) December 6, 2022
In Bilbao, Moroccan football fans brought traffic to a standstill, as can be seen in this tweet. In Barcelona, a few streets were also closed to traffic due to the massive influx of partying fans.
Aficionados de Marruecos paralizan el tráfico
📹 Bilbao pic.twitter.com/vxs0HbhiQf
— SocialDrive (@SocialDrive_es) December 6, 2022
Cadena SER writes that in Granada the fans of the Atlas Lions blocked the roads by walking en masse through the city centre. Many fans took out their flares and smoke canisters to celebrate a historic day for the neighbouring country.
Carreteras cortadas por la celebración de aficionados de Marruecos
📹 Granada pic.twitter.com/9xksHjSMRj
— SocialDrive (@SocialDrive_es) December 6, 2022
In the Spanish enclave of Melilla bordering Morocco, fans chose to celebrate by driving their cars through the streets honking their horns. Here, the police also had to close off streets to prevent excessive congestion.
