[News] Regragui: As Muslims, We Should Forgive Islamophobic Incident at Madrid Hotel

[Revo]

 

 

Rabat - While the person responsible for the Islamophobic act against Morocco’s national football team in Spain has been identified, the head coach of the Moroccan team has urged Moroccans to forgive the hotel management as the racist attack was out of their control.

As Muslims, we should forgive such incidents and not give them more attention than they deserve, Walid Regragui said on Monday. 

Morocco’s football team faced racist and Islamophobic acts at the Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel, where the Atlas Lions arrived on Sunday ahead of their friendly game against Peru on Tuesday evening.

The hotel management should not be blamed for the attack as it was out of their control, Regragui stressed while speaking today at a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game, adding that racism is part of society. 

Hotel personnel took several pictures of members of the Moroccan team without their knowledge. They then went on to post the pictures online while making fun of the Moroccan players and mocking the holy month of Ramadan.

“Damn f*** Moros. I s*** on Ramadan and it's f*** dead,” reads one of the screenshots of the insulting posts from some of the hotel employees.

Another viral screenshot included insults to the Moroccan football team and Islam.

“The Moroccan team is in the Towers, you are a f*** pain,” said one of the posts.

🔴 HONTEUX !

Voici ce qu’un membre du personnel de l’hôtel où crèchent nos joueurs a publié sur son Instagram personnel :

« On leur sert la m*rde du Ramadan. Leurs p*tains de croyances de 💩💩💩»

« P*tain de maures de m*rde, j'e**erde le Ramadan et leurs p**ains de m*rts ! » pic.twitter.com/nyuLU4WbPc

— TFT MOROCCO (@TFT_Morocco) March 27, 2023
The incident received widespread media attention in Spain, with Spanish outlets saying that the team’s stay in Spain “has been marred by some unpleasant incidents” at the Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel.

According to a report from Spanish sports outlet AS, the hotel has strongly condemned the racist incident and vowed to take legal action against the individuals behind the anti-Islam and xenophobic posts.

The hotel’s rating has plummeted in the wake of the racist incident, going from 4.5 to 2.9 stars.

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/03/354711/regragui-as-muslims-we-should-forgive-islamophobic-incident-at-madrid-hotel