Moroccan football officials and fans have been accused of breaching FIFA rules by donning Palestinian flags at the World Cup.
The North African country’s national team, along with its officials and members, have been accused of flagrant violations of the FIFA rules at the World Cup in Doha, by waving and holding large Palestinian flags to transmit a political message of support for Palestine.
Last week Serbia’s national team was fined the equivalent of £17,000 after a flag displaying Kosovo as part of the Serbian map was hung in their changing room ahead of their 24 November match with Brazil.
London-based charity UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), who describe themselves as an association of lawyers who support Israel and seek to ensure that the rights of Israel and Israelis are respected, wrote to FIFA Disciplinary Committee chair Jorge Palacio on the matter.
They requested that Mr Palacio open an immediate investigation and that he pronounce interim measures to prevent any repetition of such violations at the Semi-Final on Wednesday 14 December and at the Final of third place playoff next Saturday 17 December.
Africa News and other media showed the Moroccan team and officials posing with the Palestinian flag on the pitch immediately following their win over Spain.
Morocco celebrates their victory by raising the Palestinian flag 🇵🇸. Palestine has been the winner in this World Cup. Arab regimes can pursue normalisation, but the people of the Arab world will have the final say. Congratulations Morocco for your victory and principled stance 🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/eTrNQWhelB
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) December 6, 2022
TV cameras also showed a Palestinian flag being waved by Morocco's defender Jawad El Yamiq after his team's win against Canada on 1 December.
UKLFI pointed out that Article 11.2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code says that anyone who uses “a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature” may be subject to disciplinary measures.
A further clause of the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations provides: “The promotion or announcement of political or religious messages or any other political or religious actions, inside or in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, by any means, is strictly prohibited before, during and after matches.”
The Disciplinary Code also specifies that “Associations and clubs, as well as their players, officials, and any other member and/or person carrying out a function on their behalf, must respect the Laws of the Game, as well as the FIFA Statutes and FIFA’s regulations, directives, guidelines, circulars, and decisions … ”
UKLFI chief executive Jonathan Turner told the JC: “By not respecting the regulations, the Moroccan players and officials themselves violated the Disciplinary Code. Political actions can provoke disorder so it is important to ensure that these Regulations are enforced.
"We hope that FIFA will address this urgently to ensure that the forthcoming games are not marred by further political demonstrations," he continued.
The JC has reached out to FIFA and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for comment.
