Spanish football hooligans unite to ‘defend Spain’ for fear of rioting against Moroccan fans around this afternoon’s World Cup match
Trouble could be brewing around the Spain-Morocco World Cup match this afternoon as Spanish soccer gangs call for “defend Spain” against violent acts by Moroccan soccer fans.
The usually fierce rivals of diehard football fans of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, Ultras Ser and Frente Madrid respectively, have announced that they will “join forces” to protect the streets of Madrid from “acts of violence by the Moroccan supporters”.
The Real Betis ultras answered the call and announced that they would meet in the streets of Sevilla at the Heliopolis one hour before the match.
And the most aggressive football fans in Zaragoza and Valencia said they would also follow and rally in their city centers ready to take on any “violent” Moroccan fans.
The decisions were announced on Spain’s biggest ultras football forum, Foro MDM, which added that ‘it’s NOT Belgium, it’s Spain’, in reference to the violence that erupted after the match. of the World Cup between Morocco and Belgium.
The match, which sent Morocco into the round of 16 and Belgium wrapped up after their 2-0 win, was marred by rioting from an apparent segment of Moroccan fans in Brussels and Antwerp who overturned cars, looted stores and even attacked the police.
The police responded by deploying water cannons and tear gas and arresting twenty people; 12 in Brussels and eight in Antwerp.
Similar scenes were seen in the Netherlands, where 500 rioters charged at Rotterdam police throwing glass and fireworks.
The Spanish Interior Ministry has put the riot police on alert, while the National Police’s Deputy Directorate of Operations (DAO) has expressly ordered that “UIP (riot control), UPR (prevention and reaction) are reserved for this afternoon and evening, and have specific devices planned.
The measures are necessary, according to the DAO, due to “the anticipation of celebrations which could lead to public disorder, as has already happened in other countries”.
Spain has a large immigrant population from Morocco, officially 900,000 but likely much more, and it is understood that areas where large numbers of Moroccan nationals are registered will be monitored very closely.
Spain haven’t faced any World Cup-related issues so far, but the ingredients are getting ready for the match, which kicks off at 5pm Spanish time.
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