Moroccan fans clash with police as celebratory scenes turn ugly

Moroccan fans have taken to the streets across Europe after their team sensationally knocked Spain out of the World Cup in Qatar. 

The match finished 0-0 after extra time and was settled on penalties – where Spain failed to score any of their three attempts. 

Thousands of Moroccan fans gathered in city centres across Europe following their dramatic victory, although after several hours there were reports of clashes with police in Brussels and Granada. 

A heavy police presence was seen in central Paris.  

Spain hit the post with their first attempt, while Moroccan goal keeper Yassine Bounou stopped the other two.

This sent frenzied Moroccan fans to the streets of cities across Europe, where they have been described as the Pride of the Arab world, for reaching the World Cup Quarter Finals.  

They will play Portugal who hammered Switzerland 6-1 – despite dropping Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench.

Pablo Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets missed their penalties for Spain, with Sarabia hitting the post and Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopping the other two.

Police clashed with celebrating Moroccan fans following their team’s historic World Cup victory in Qatar 

Riot Police stood watching Moroccan fans in Brussels following their historic win

The jubilant fans celebrated for several hours following the final whistle into the early hours of the morning

In Paris, a heavy police presence as thousands of fans gathered in the city centre 

In Granada, Spain, arrests were made following sporadic clashes with Moroccan fans

Moroccan fans celebrated their victory over Spain on London’s Edgware Road, pictured

Morocco remain the only team from outside Europe or South America in the tournament. Pictured, fans celebrating their win in Brussels. Morocco had previously beaten Belgium 2-0 in the group stages

In Doha, Moroccan fans prepared for their World Cup quarter final on Saturday afternoon

Morocco is the only team from outside Europe or South America to make it to the last eight. It is the only Arab – and African – nation left in the tournament.

Their jubilant fans have celebrated across Europe.  

During the game, Spain dominated possession but Morocco’s defence held firm, restricting the Iberian giants to a handful of chances. 

Jubilant Moroccan players lifted out their head coach Walid Regragiu following the biggest shock so far of the tournament. 

Moroccan fan Boutaina Essadiki told Al Jazeera: ‘To go past the first round was the first football joy for the young generation and it’s beautiful because what’s happening on the pitch is bringing together children of the Moroccan diaspora, born all over Europe.

‘The win [over Spain] will be a victory for all Arab teams.

‘I’m so proud to be a Moroccan right now. And given the situation, even if I wasn’t a Moroccan I’d like to be one to join in and celebrate.’

Moroccan fans in Milan were bouncing into the sky as they celebrated tonight’s victory

In Barcelona, Moroccan fans released flares as they celebrated their historic victory against one of Europe’s top teams

Moroccan fans took to the streets of Madrid following their shock victory this evening over Spain in the World Cup

Across Spain, pictured here Tudela, in the north of the country, fans celebrated the North African country’s victory

Niama Meddoun from Rabat said: ‘We are so proud of our Lions, who fought hard to get us into the quarterfinals. We are delighted to be Moroccans today, since we are the first Arab country that has reached the quarterfinals.’

The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, praised the national team and sent his ‘heartfelt congratulations’ to the players, the technical team and administrative personnel, ‘who gave their all and blazed a trail throughout this great sporting event,’ according to a statement from the royal palace.

The king said the players represented ‘hopes and dreams of Moroccans in Morocco, Qatar, and all over the world.’

Morocco is the only Arab – and African – nation left in the tournament, the first World Cup held in the Middle East. Its World Cup success has reverberated across the Arab world and among Moroccan and some other immigrant communities in Europe.

In Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, a crowd of youths waving Moroccan, Egyptian, Algerian and Palestinian flags gathered in the center, where fans of FC Barcelona traditionally celebrate big victories. People cheered to the sound of drums. Some were lighting flares.

In a Barcelona restaurant where viewers had congregated, people jumped on tables and lifted chairs in the air. Outside, cars honked horns and people lit firecrackers and red and green smoke bombs.

Youssef Lotfi, a 39-year-old construction worker who was born in Casablanca but moved to Spain as a child and said he feels love for both countries, was brimming with pride.

‘Today is a day of joy for Moroccans and all the Arab world,’ Lotfi said. ‘It was a heart-attack finish that could have gone either way.’

He called the victory ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. ‘Morocco is representing all the Arab world, all the African continent, that is beyond description, it is the most glorious part,’ he said.

In Ceuta, a Spanish exclave which borders with Morocco on the north African coast, the win was also celebrated with cars honking horns. Ceuta’s population is a mix of Spaniards and Moroccan residents and workers.

‘What pride! What happiness! Now to celebrate with friends. I have lost my voice!’ said 20-year-old Ismael Mustafa. ‘We were able to pull it off. For Spain? You will win next time, so no worries.;

Celebrations across Spain, which has some 800,000 Moroccan residents, were mostly peaceful, though Spanish media reported a brief scuffle between Morocco and Spain fans in a bar in the southern city of Huelva. No injuries or arrests were reported.

In Qatar, Moroccan fans clashed briefly with police outside the stadium before the game started.

Ten days ago riots broke out in Belgium and the Netherlands as Morocco fans celebrated beating Belgium in the group stage in Qatar.

In central Paris, cars started honking almost immediately after Morocco’s surprise win Tuesday, and crowds of people streamed toward the Champs-Elysees to celebrate. Men and women, in business suits or track suits, from teenage to middle-aged, cheered or raised their hands in victory. 

Hundreds took to the  streets in Bilbao following the victory in the Round of 16 

Members of the Moroccan diaspora celebrated their historic victory across Europe. 

Moments after their dramatic victory, fans took to the streets of Brussels, The Hague and Barcelona, lighting flares and singing songs. 

Morocco have progressed into this weekend’s Quarter Finals where they join The Netherlands, Argentina, Croatia, Brazil, England, France and Portugal playing for a place in the final four. 

Morocco play Portugal at 3pm on Saturday, where the victors are destined to play either England or France for a place in the final.  

Morocco became only the fourth African country to reach the quarter finals and were playing in only their second knockout match. 

Moroccan midfielder Azzedine Ounahi said: ‘Right now is a special moment for all Africa, for all the Arab countries, for all the Muslims around this world

‘You try to make them happy, try to make ourselves happy. And I think it goes quite well.’

The World Cup in Qatar is the first to be played in the Arab world and only the second to be held in Asia. The tournament began with one of the biggest upsets in history when Saudi Arabia beat two-time champion Argentina on the third day of action.

The Saudis were eliminated, as were host Qatar and Tunisia, in the group stage. That left Morocco as the Arab world’s standard bearer.

In Paris, Moroccan fans gathered on the Champs Elysees

While other Moroccan fans lit flares in Amsterdam. They Netherlands have also made it through to the Quarter Finals where they will face Lionel Messi’s Argentina 

Hundreds of Moroccan fans were seen in Doha, where the North African country remains the only team from outside Europe or South America in the competition 

Other Moroccan fans released fireworks above Turin to celebrate their dramatic victory

Unsurprisingly, Moroccan fans were jubilant in Rabat, having seen their team progress to the Quarter Finals of the World Cup

Moroccan midfielder Bilal El Khannouss said his team had made their country by taking them into the quarter-finals for the first time, with their first-ever knockout stage victory: ‘We are very happy. We have written history all together,which is the most important thing. We have made our country, our fans and our families proud.

‘We were always confident we could beat Spain. We have good players, a good team, strong mentality and when we fight for each other, we are a very hard team to beat. You can see that over these last games, and that is the most important thing.

‘Bounou is a very good goalkeeper, he’s a real talent. He’s like that all the time and we congratulate him for what he did today.’

Morocco have sensationally knocked Spain out of the World Cup with the African nation going through on penalties following a goalless 120 minutes of football

Spain’s Ansu Fati sits on the floor looking dejected moments after his team were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco, who are the only team from outside Europe or South America left in the tournament

Walid Regragui, Moroccan coach said: ‘I’m very proud of my fans, of my people and Arabic people. Also because I think you have Qatari people here, maybe Algerian people, Tunisian people, Arabic people and African people.’

Achraf Hakimi, who was born in Madrid and previously played for Real Madrid, converted the deciding penalty in the shootout. Abdelhamid Sabiri and Hakim Ziyech, who returned to the national team after a dispute with the previous coach, also scored.

Morocco has been the biggest surprise of the tournament and will next face either Portugal or Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Morocco, which has a complex geopolitical relationship with close neighbor Spain, advanced from a difficult group that included Canada, 2018 semifinalist Belgium, and 2018 runner-up Croatia.

The team came to the tournament with more than half of its squad filled with players who were not born in Morocco, the most of any of the 32 participating countries.

Regragui said: ‘Today I think it showed to the world every Moroccan is Moroccan with his passport. When he comes to the national team, you want to die, you want to fight. And that is what I want to show. And now, we have one example. The coach is born in France but nobody can have my heart but my country.’

The king of Morocco called to congratulate the team after the game.

Morocco, which also reached the round of 16 at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, is also the only team from outside Europe or South America to make it to the last eight in Qatar.

Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana are the only other African nations to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. None of the three advanced to the semifinals.

Moroccan fans released flares in Brussels following their side’s victory against Spain 

Moroccan coach Walid Ragragui said: ‘We fought and made the Moroccan people happy, we made history and Morocco deserve it, Moroccan people made us united on the pitch.’

Morocco defender Jawad Yamiq was proud of his team’s performance.

‘We honoured the Arab and African football, coach Regragui gave us the confidence that we needed in this game, a big boost in morale,’ he said.

‘We knew that Spain depend on their ball possession and we played with that in mind. They didn’t impose any danger.’

Fans congregated in the centre of Brussels as well as several other European cities

Riot police were sent out to keep an eye on Moroccan fans following this evening’s victory

Morocco have progressed into this weekend’s Quarter Finals where they join The Netherlands, Argentina, Croatia, Brazil, England, France and the winners of Switzerland and Portugal playing for a place in the final four

Fans let off some fireworks on the Vaillantlaan Street in The Hague, Netherlands

Moroccan Fans took to the streets of The Hague following tonight’s historic victory over Spain

Many Moroccan fans made their way to central Paris ahead of this weekend’s Quarter Finals. Morocco is in the same side of the group as France and England. The winner of both quarter finals will face off in the semi final

It was the fourth time Spain have been knocked out of the World Cup on penalties and the second in a row.

‘We completely dominated the match, it’s a shame it went that way,’ Spain manager Luis Enrique told TVE.

‘It’s the most difficult thing, playing against a team like Morocco who are hard workers.

‘The penalties cost us, but I am very proud of the team and all the players. I’m very sorry about the result but I congratulate Morocco.’

Moroccan fans took over the centre of Brussels amid the post-match celebrations. Morocco had previously beaten Belgium 2-0 in the group stages

Other fans were seen in Brussels following the match which saw Morocco unexpectedly progress into the quarter finals

Moroccan fans in Barcelona watched their team make their unlikely journey into the final eight

These fans watched the game in Marseille where they began their celebrations

Outside the stadium, riot police and dogs were deployed as fans tried to enter the stadium. 

Security forces could be seen dragging away at least three people as Morocco played Spain inside the nearby Education City Stadium.

Heated discussions were taking place between some Morocco fans and security forces over whether or not they could head through the perimeter gate and move towards the spectator entrances.

Some people were showing their phones and what appeared to be their passports, but were turned away.

At one stage, security forces inside the stadium perimeter – but outside the spectator entrances – marched forward to move people back.

Riot police were then asked to put on their helmets and moved to a new position while police dogs could also be seen.

One security official said of the people outside: ‘They are not moving away, they want to enter.’

It was unclear how many people outside the stadium had tickets and how many did not.

Moroccan fans in Bilbao, pictured, have seen their team progress to the World Cup quarter finals for the first time in their history having only conceded one goal so far during the tournament 

Jubilant Moroccan players lifted out their head coach Walid Regragiu following the biggest shock so far of the tournament 

Spanish players stared in disbelief as their misfiring colleagues failed to score any of their three penalties

One fan was allowed by the security forces to head to the spectator entrance after 75 minutes had been played, while two other fans said they had ‘no ticket’ and others were asking for them.

A member of the security forces later removed someone for filming on their phone and asked a PA reporter to stop filming.

The atmosphere outside the stadium did calm down with groups of Moroccan supporters and others crowding around phones to watch the game after moving away from the perimeter gate.

Security forces handed water to some Moroccan supporters while a couple of other officers could be seen watching the game by looking over the shoulders of fans.

Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon, pictured, went the wrong way when facing Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech from 12 yards