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The spokesman for the Nueva Melilla party, Isaac Fernández Atencia, has defended the right of Melilla residents to support Morocco's national football team during the World Cup, arguing that backing the Atlas Lions is fully compatible with being Spanish. «To be Spanish, you do not have to be anti-Moroccan», he said.
Fernández Atencia made the remarks after Morocco secured a place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 victory over Canada. Congratulating the Atlas Lions, he stressed that wearing the Moroccan national team's jersey does not make him «any less Spanish».
«I am Spanish, from Melilla, and Andalusian as well», he said. «Wearing the shirt of a team I respect, or of a country with which I have an emotional bond and affection, does not make me any less Spanish, nor does it prevent me from defending Spanish Melilla». He argued that supporting Morocco should be viewed no differently from supporting any other national team.
He noted that fans of countries such as Argentina and England regularly celebrate their teams' victories in cities across Spain without generating controversy, adding that support for Morocco in Melilla should be treated in the same way.
Fernández Atencia also recalled that, ahead of the Morocco-Canada match, he had defended the right of residents and shop owners in Melilla to publicly support the Atlas Lions during the World Cup. He said that while he supports Spain whenever it is competing, he backs Morocco when Spain is not involved, describing the Kingdom as a «neighboring country» with which he shares a personal and emotional connection.
