We are not racist... Morocco bids to host the 2030 World Cup final

Spanish football has come under the spotlight following the events at the RCDE Stadium, where a large section of the crowd booed the Egyptian national anthem – Spain’s opponents in last Tuesday’s friendly match – whilst chanting anti-Islamic slogans.

The incident has received widespread media coverage over the past two days, particularly as Spain is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Morocco and Portugal.

This incident has raised fears among many that racist incidents could recur during matches to be held in Spain during the World Cup, despite condemnation of the incident by the Spanish authorities and the Spanish Football Federation.

In this regard, Morocco has moved to request hosting the 2030 World Cup final instead of Spain, according to Spanish radio station "Cadena Ser", citing the Moroccan newspaper "Al-Qud".

It noted that FIFA is fully aware of everything happening in Spain, and therefore Morocco has the “edge” in the competition to host the 2030 World Cup final.

Read also: After the Egypt match crisis... Will Spain lose the honour of hosting the 2030 World Cup final?

It added: “No racist incidents of this kind or of this severity have been recorded in Moroccan stadiums.”

The Spanish government and most political parties had condemned the anti-Islamic and anti-foreigner chants that were heard during the friendly match between Spain and Egypt at the RCDE Stadium in Cornellà-El Prat.

The Catalan police are investigating these incidents, after the government referred the case to the public prosecutor’s office.

The incident sparked widespread outrage among the Muslim community and the football world, led by Spain and Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, who expressed his deep dismay at what had happened.

On Wednesday, the Catalan Minister for Sport, Berni Álvarez, also expressed his “deep dismay” at the racist chants and regretted the delay in implementing the protocols.

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