Casablanca, Morocco (TMT)- The Wilaya of the Casablanca-Settat region said in a communiqué that it has decided to ban all activities of the ultras groups working “outside the authorities’ regulatory framework,” meaning all ultras in Casablanca, and in Morocco by extension, will be banned as none has any accreditation from the Moroccan authorities.
Morocco’s state news agency La MAP said that the decision was taken “to ensure the safety of citizens and their properties and to preserve public order.”
Ultras have been blamed during the last years in Morocco for the growing amount of violence in Morocco’s stadiums.
The Ultras movement started in Latin America and Europe in the 1950s before coming to Morocco in the last 20 years, becoming very popular during the last 10 years.
“The Ultras” word comes from the Latin word for “beyond.”
A Moroccan football fan, who spoke to The Moroccan Times on the condition of anonymity, said that “Moroccan ultras are not interested in watching football per-sey.”
“They come to stadiums only to enjoy the atmosphere, scream, shout out loud, fight, and stir disorder,” the young fan told us.
“Most of them are very young people. They are violence-prone thugs.” the fan stressed.
The ban decision come in the wake of what the Moroccan media has described as the “black Sunday game,” one which opposed last Sunday night in complex Mohammed V of Casablanca Chabab Al Rif Al Hoceimi (visitors) to the locals of Raja Casblanca, and which saw the killing of three people and more than 80 injured as a result of acts of hooliganism.
The Moroccan Times.
