Waving the Palestinian flag, welcoming the unofficial team of the World Cup

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — Amid the uproar, in the minutes of jubilation after Morocco became the first Arab team to reach the quarter-finals of the world soccer tournament, the players took a moment to gather. after their famous win and huddled together to snap a snapshot of the moment. Together on the pitch where they fought for more than two hours through Spain, cheering and smiling at the crowd of Moroccan fans in red shouting behind them, players and coaches Their members jostled each other and waited for the flag to be raised.

That is not the flag of Morocco.

In the center of the team photo, stretched out to show its full glory, is the Palestinian banner. Morocco, the best Arab team at the first Arab World Cup, celebrated across North Africa and beyond with its victory. Now, in a moment of triumph, when the World Cup’s 32 teams have been shortened to eight finalists, it stops to draw attention to a venue and a cause that so many fans and spectators alike. Arabs sympathize.

“Palestine is the 33rd country to participate in the World Cup,” said Abdullah Mansouri, a Moroccan fan trying to make himself hear the trumpets and drums that accompanies his country’s victory. “Palestine is our cause, our struggle in the Arab world, in the whole Arab world.”

One of the features of the first World Cup to be held in the Muslim world was the ubiquitous presence of red, white, green and black colors on a team that was a member of FIFA but whose home country was not a member. Official FIFA member. United Nation. The tournament provided a rare moment of Arab unity, with fans from different countries cheering on each other’s teams — and expressing support for the Palestinian cause — right on the sidelines. even as a number of Arab governments, including Morocco, have recently normalized relations with Israel.

That kind of normalization is not reflected on the Arab streets, as it is known, showing a disconnection with the Arab leadership and a feeling that the Palestinian cause still resonates widely with the Arab world. people throughout the Arab world and the Arab diaspora.

For example, on the ground and in stadiums in Qatar, Palestinian flags, Palestinian armbands and even black and white hats, or kaffiyehs, with Palestinian flags were on display throughout the one-day tournament. month. And as the other Arab and Muslim nations that qualified for the tournament have left the tournament, Morocco, the last nation still competing, has become the standard-bearer for the Palestinian cause.

“Palestine is our second country, our theme, our identity – like humanity, like Muslims,” said Aicha Hajjaj, a supporter, as she left the pitch. campaigning for the City of Education with her husband, Mohammed Bouhride, who holds a Palestinian flag wearing a Moroccan team jersey. “They are suffering.”

Bouhride then turned to her young daughter and asked her to name the Palestinian capital. She didn’t skip a beat. “Al Quds,” was the reply, followed by a wide grin. Al Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, the city that both Palestinians and Israelis identify as their real capital.

The massive support in Qatar has been widely applauded in the West Bank, with many Palestinians sharing videos and photos of the flag being flown on social media, and expressing joy that they are still supported across the country. Arab world, even as some governments have forged diplomatic agreements with Israel.

Palestinian journalist and editor Ramzy Baroud said: “Watching Palestinians cheer for Morocco and Moroccans cheer for Palestine is one of the Arab people’s most important denials to the normalization with Israel”. told Days of Palestine. “This moment will live on in the minds of generations of Arabs.”

On Tuesday, thousands of fans turned up to Morocco’s match wearing costumes with similar support symbols, something that the tournament’s hosts Qatar – who have actively limited political display on other fronts – did little to stop. In the VIP seats, and even the VVIP seats, guests combined their traditional crisp white robes with armbands printed with black and white small checks, an approximation of the kaffiyeh of Palestine after the German interior minister attended her country’s opening match dressed in rainbow colors. armband. Since then, the image of armbands with the Palestinian flag has multiplied.

In the stands and on the field, the efforts have been much less discreet. At several matches, including Tuesday’s famous victory, flags that read “Free Palestine” were raised in several areas of the stadium, including parts of the city. Education Street. Moroccan players brought the Palestinian flag into the field after a number of matches, and their qualification to the knockout stages prompted some fans to travel to Qatar from the occupied territories.

Abdullah Alzeer watched Morocco’s final game of the group stage at home in Ramallah, the administrative center of the occupied West Bank. As soon as Morocco’s win over Canada confirmed that they would be playing in the round of 16, he logged into a ticket resale site, paid around $275 for a seat, and then scheduled a his trip.

It’s a roundabout journey. Alzeer said he first traveled – with his brother and two friends – to Jordan before flying to Doha. “The reception was phenomenal; Visitors from the occupied territories enjoyed something of a celebrity status in and around Doha, inside the stadiums and in the restaurants and narrow alleys of Souq Waqif , the market used to be a magnet for celebrations during the World Cup. Night after night, Tunisians, Moroccans, Saudis, Qataris and even groups of Algerians – who did not qualify for this year’s World Cup – danced and sang songs. praising another team that’s not here: the Palestine team’.

During Tunisia’s group stage match against France, a protester even ran into the field carrying a Palestinian flag, causing the match to be abruptly halted but drawing even more attention to the cause of the Palestinians. Palestine.

While the celebrations are largely nice – except for Israeli journalists trying to cover the tournament — and add another layer of local texture to the Arab world’s first World Cup, which contrasts with the treatment other supporters often receive when trying to enter arenas with antique flags or banners for other causes. Fans wearing clothes with rainbows or other badges honoring the LGBTQ community or Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag, were ordered by security personnel to cover up or hand them over.

FIFA and local organizers have repeatedly ignored requests for comment on why fans wear or wear rainbow colors – which are not officially banned in arenas – or anti-racist messages. The Iranian government, on the other hand, had serious problems entering the stadium, while the Palestinian flag bearers, led to fines for European football clubs in the past when used to mock Israeli teams, did not.

However, across the Middle East and North Africa and much of Europe, people have clearly taken a side. After Morocco beat Spain, fans flooded the streets of London and Paris, even in the Spanish capital Madrid. In Morocco, fans lit flares in Rabat and Casablanca. And on the West Coast, the game ends with blaring whistles, flag waving and even celebratory gunfire. Fans and their flags will return on Saturday, when Morocco meets Portugal in the quarterfinals.

Hiba Yazbek contributed reporting from Jerusalem.