Riots broke out in several European cities following Morocco’s defeat by France in the World Cup semifinals. A youth dies in Montpellier. In Brussels, the police arrested around 100 people.
After Morocco’s defeat in the semi-finals of the soccer World Cup, riots broke out in several European cities during the night. As the newspaper “Midi Libre” reported, a 14-year-old died in Montpellier after being hit by a car. According to this, several people in the La Paillade district are said to have tried to remove a France flag from the window of a car. The driver then accelerated and hit several people. A video of the incident is circulating online. According to the newspaper, the teenager died a little later in the hospital. The driver of the car fled. In Montpellier, fans from both sides also fired firecrackers at each other.
Clashes also broke out in other cities. In Paris on the Champs-Élysées, rioters and police officers briefly clashed, as reported by the media. In the metropolitan area of ????the French capital, 115 people were arrested, as reported by the broadcaster BFMTV. In Brussels, the police arrested around 100 people. This was due to the disturbance of public order, damage to two police vehicles and possession of prohibited fireworks, as reported by the Belga news agency, citing the police at night. Traffic in parts of the city center was blocked as a precaution.
There were also clashes in Antwerp. Several people were also arrested here. Numerous police officers in riot gear and burning piles of rubbish could be seen in pictures from the Belgian capital from the night. However, photos of Belga also showed residents who began cleaning the streets of rubbish in the evening.
In the meantime, there was also talk of a tense situation in Lyon. As the newspaper “Nice-Matin” reported, there were also conflicts between fans and the police in Nice and Cannes. For the most part, however, the situation calmed down again, and there was no talk of arrests or major property damage.
In Berlin, on the other hand, the mood remained calm overall, most people went home quickly after the game, said a police spokesman on Wednesday evening. They had been prepared for a larger effort – especially in the event of a victory for the Moroccan team. In the Berlin-Neukölln district, fans set off a short fireworks display. A dpa reporter on site reported that the fans were proud of the team’s performance, which surprisingly made it to the semi-finals at the World Cup in Qatar.
However, Wednesday’s defeat by France (0-2) ended the dreams of the Moroccans, who had become the first African team to reach the top four at a World Cup.
(This article was first published on Thursday, December 15, 2022.)
