The Moroccan Football Federation entered the line of controversy that arose about the “Atlas Lions” player Zakaria Abu Khalal, a professional in the French ranks of Toulouse, after a Moroccan electronic newspaper published an article describing him as “a Salafist who adopts extremist ideology and has infiltrated the Moroccan national team,” a report that sparked responses Angry actions on the part of a wide range of Moroccans, leading to discussions on social networking sites.

Today, Sunday, the federation issued a statement condemning what was published by this newspaper, stressing that it stood by Abu Khalal as one of the makers of the World Cup achievement in Qatar, and decided to sue the newspaper.

The Football Association denounces and vows

And since the electronic newspaper "Ashkane" published, last Friday, a report entitled "Abu Khallal Salafi in the Moroccan National Team," and there is no topic that tops the discussions on communication sites in the Kingdom except for condemnation and denunciation of the accusations and incitement against the player.

With the expansion of the controversy, the Moroccan Federation decided to enter the line and issued a statement denouncing the contents of this report.

President of the Moroccan Football Federation, Fawzi Lakjaa (communication sites)

And the federation's statement said, "Following the publication of an article by one of the websites that affects the person and behavior of the Moroccan international player, Zakaria Abu Khalal, during his participation with the national elite in the Qatar World Cup 2022, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation categorically denies the false accusations against him." in this article.

The statement emphasized that Abu Khalal "expressed exemplary behavior alongside his colleagues in order to achieve honorable results for the national elite in this global forum."

Likewise, the federation strongly condemned "the abuse of this website with the person and behavior of player Zakaria Abu Khalal, and through him, the image of the national team with all its activities."

The federation stressed that it would resort to the judiciary to protect the members of the national team and refute any false allegations affecting their behavior or personal lives while exercising their national duties.

What is the report of the site "Ashkane"?

The report described the Abu Khalal player as "the Salafist who penetrates the national team" because of his strong commitment and keenness to perform prayers.

The "Ashchine" website said that Abu Khalal's behavior "carries a strict religious character, especially after he resorted to prostration after scoring the second goal against Belgium, which, according to the Moroccan platform, is considered an imported Levantine culture."

Title of the Moroccan newspaper report

And the "Ashchine" website claimed that Abu Khalal "took advantage of the Qatar World Cup opportunity to influence his teammates and try to attract them to his Salafist movement, which was achieved with Abdel Hamid Sabiri and Elias Al Shaer."

In addition, the site described the unification movement that Abu Khalal, along with the players of the Moroccan national team, is doing by raising his index finger upward as the "ISIS movement."

The site also attacked the player after appearing in the stands with a veiled woman, who later revealed that she was his European wife, in addition to his appearance with the famous Indian preacher Zakir Naik.

The player Zakaria Abu Khallal leads the audience on his wedding night... 💙


May God bless him and bless him and bring them together in goodness.

pic.twitter.com/iluXjKZsxk

- 🇲🇦 Abdel-Aali Al-Rami (@erramiabdelali) December 24, 2022

Widespread anger on social media

Activists considered that what the French star of Toulouse did was behavior followed by any observant Muslim, noting that this is not a charge or a crime that requires criticism of him or insulting his faith.

On communication platforms, the hashtag "We are all Abu Khalal" has spread widely in Arabic and English, in a campaign involving politicians, thinkers and academics, as well as Moroccan athletes.

"# My Salafi penetrates the national team"


This phrase was written on one of the secular websites. Imagine that you are writing to the world that you are a Muslim and you are proud to be a Muslim, but in return you are attacked by some secular websites in the country of Islam! All support #Zakaria_Abukhalal 🇲🇦💪 pic.twitter.com/ r6RyAchLts

- Abdelwahed_sellami/Abdelwahed Salami (@Abdelwahed_sell) December 25, 2022

A member of the Association of Arab Maghreb Scholars, Radwan Nafeh al-Rahal, said on his Facebook account, "The trumpets of modernity enraged them to see some manifestations of religiosity shown by the players of the Moroccan national team, so they wanted to demonize these manifestations."

Likewise, Saad Eddin El Othmani, the former head of the Moroccan government, condemned what the newspaper went to, praising the reaction of the Moroccan Federation, which defended the player.

Al-Othmani returned the campaign to support Abu Khalal through the hashtag "We are all Abu Khalal" in response to "the yellow press, which did not like the condemnation of the national player Abu Khalal."

He also noted the "strict stance" of the Moroccan Federation for the game.

And salutations to the free Moroccans who rushed to denounce the malicious and trivial accusations against Abu Khalil and other players, just because they chose to express their religiosity and the culture of their country in sophisticated, civilized ways that dazzled the world#We are all Abukhalal#Weareaboukhlal pic.twitter.com/5TlVBZGx9l

- Saad al-Din al-Othmani EL OTMANI Saad dine (@Elotmanisaad) December 25, 2022

For his part, academic Omar Al-Sharqawi believes that it is unreasonable to describe a player as extremist or Salafist only because he prostrates after victory and drinks water while sitting on his knees and reciting the Qur’an.

While others called on the newspaper and other Moroccan media to "focus on what has become known as the scandal of distributing World Cup tickets," which resonated in parliament, and the authorities decided to open an investigation into it, instead of directing accusations against one of the makers of the best achievement in the history of Moroccan and Arab football.

Abu Khalil "The Committed"

Hours before the release of this report, the pioneers of the communication sites circulated videos of Abu Khalal praying with people after his wedding last Friday.

The former player of Dutch Alkmaar (his mother is Moroccan and his father is Libyan) is known for his religious commitment and memorization of the Holy Qur’an, in addition to his leading prayers in a mosque in the Netherlands.

#Abu Khalil_Zakaria_symbol of pride and dignity pic.twitter.com/ZYWa1UMGEM

- Sufyan Abu Anwar (@sofyane28337676) December 25, 2022

During the last World Cup in Qatar, Abu Khalal published a picture of himself with the famous Indian preacher "Zakir Naik" on his account on "Instagram" and expressed his great happiness at meeting him.

Last summer, he delivered a Friday sermon to his team mates and prayed with them, during the training camp of the "Atlas Lions".

Similar to Abu Khalal, the Moroccan national team players are accustomed to celebrating prostration, after winning all their matches in the 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar.