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Ahead of Monday night's Round of 32 clash between Morocco and the Netherlands at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Monterrey, Mexico, media outlets in the host country and social media users took aim at the governor of Nuevo León, Samuel García, accusing him of showing favoritism toward the Dutch team.
The criticism followed a series of posts in which García promoted the city's Fan Fest under the slogan «Orange Party Mode», a reference to both the Netherlands' national color and the orange branding of his political party, the center-left Movimiento Ciudadano.
Orange Party Mode
— Samuel García (@samuel_garcias) June 28, 2026
See you tomorrow at the Fan Fest
*Sunday*
3:30 pm- Karlo
6:30 pm- Santos Bravos
7:30 pm- Enrique Iglesias
11:30 pm- surprise Dutch DJ
Free beer ?? pic.twitter.com/oNp9wVIii9
The governor's choice of messaging was widely interpreted as a sign of support for the Oranje, prompting accusations of a «double standard» from critics who argued that the host of a World Cup fixture should remain neutral.
The center-right daily El Norte denounced what it described as García's «enthusiastic support» for the Netherlands, criticizing the organization of an «orange wave» of supporters. «What will Moroccans say when they see the neutral city where they are playing decked out in support of the Netherlands?», the newspaper wrote in a post on X.
What will Moroccans say when they see the neutral city where they are playing covered in support for the Netherlands? pic.twitter.com/WZMZ8Ehtod
— San Cadilla El Norte (@SancadillaNorte) June 28, 2026
Just two days earlier, however, García had publicly expressed support for Morocco in a far more diplomatic setting. During a meeting with Morocco's ambassador to Mexico, Abdelfattah Lebbar, he wore the colors of the Atlas Lions.
According to the governor, the meeting focused on «future investment projects, the arrival of 15 charter flights in Nuevo León and our experience organizing the World Cup». «I also took the opportunity to wish him every success on Monday, and I even left with a Moroccan national team jersey and cap», García wrote on social media.
Mexicans push back
On Monday, hours before kickoff, the governor also welcomed Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) president Fouzi Lekjaa in the presence of Ambassador Lebbar. García said Nuevo León was proud to host Morocco's national team and its supporters, while the Moroccan ambassador praised the reception given to the Atlas Lions' fans, according to the FRMF.
Beyond the criticism from Mexican media, García's use of the color orange also sparked reactions from content creators and football fans, many of whom still associate the Netherlands with Mexico's controversial elimination from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In that Round of 16 match, the Dutch came from behind to win 2-1 after a late penalty awarded to the Oranje, a decision many Mexican supporters still consider unjust.
The incident gave rise to the slogan «No era penal» («It wasn't a penalty»), which resurfaced on social media ahead of Monday's match. Invoking that famous phrase, commentator Carlos «Tank» Lankenau distanced himself from the governor's messaging, writing that «all of Mexico» stood apart from such displays «because of the #NoEraPenal movement», before concluding: «Let's all stand with Morocco!»
