The controversial Algerian channel Ennahar TV has once again engaged in Morocco-bashing, releasing a video on November 27 accusing the country and its national football team of “drug trafficking.”
Ennahar TV, whose managing director was sentenced last year to ten years in prison for corruption, is no stranger to controversy and Morocco-bashing.
From publishing cartoons of King Mohammed VI to hurling unfounded accusations against Morocco in a wide range of issues or areas, the website clickbaity Algerian channel has been at the forefront of accusations of all kinds to tarnish Morocco’s reputation.
This time, as the football world continues to applaud the historic and odds-defying journey of Morocco’s Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Algerian tabloid resorts to dismissing the inspirational legacy of the Moroccan national team by provocatively suggesting that their success on the world stage was made possible by the trafficking of “hashish” and “cocaine.”
Claiming that “the exploits of the Moroccan national team and the trophies won by Wydad are tainted by zetla (hashish) money,” the Algerian channel used completely unsubstantiated allegations to attack Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).
Ennahar TV further claimed that these accusations are judicial confessions from a Hashish trafficker known by the nicknames “Africa’s Escobar” and “financial baron.”
However, the video lacked sufficient details about the original source, the identity of the person in question, or other information that would reveal further corroborating details.
