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While they were expected to attend the second leg of the Raja Casablanca vs. Hilal Al-Quds game from the Arab Club Championship, the fans of the Moroccan club were prevented from entering the Palestinian territories.
In a video sent, Thursday, to Yabiladi, a group of Raja Casablanca fans said that they failed to receive the necessary permits to make it to Al Quds, to support their team in a game scheduled for this evening at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium.
On the same day, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation posted on its Facebook page a communiqué, revealing that the Kingdom’s Embassy in Amman is «assisting Raja Casablanca fans», who flew to Jordan to watch the football match.
According to the same source, the Moroccan diplomatic mission will work on «facilitating the repatriation of Moroccan fans to the Kingdom» after they were denied entry to Palestine.
Denied entry to Palestine
Meanwhile, Raja Casablanca fans said in a Facebook post that they are currently in Jordan and that they are being hosted by the Moroccan embassy in Amman. They explained that «the list of those who were prevented from entering the Palestinian territories, includes a representative from Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and a football coordinator from Jordan».
Reacting to the situation of the Moroccan fans, the Palestinian football team said in a Facebook post that «Arab and Muslim people should be entitled to visit Palestine in general and Al Quds in particular and pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque».
«Since we are under Israeli occupation, having all these fans enter Palestine requires specific permits issued by the Israeli occupation authorities. There is nothing we can do», the club regretted.
Raja Casablanca fans were not the only ones denied entry to Palestine. According to Raja Casablanca, the team’s defender Sanad Al-Warfali, a Libyan national who plays for the club, was also banned from participating to the game.
For the record, the Casablanca-based team arrived, Wednesday, in the city of Ramallah after a six-hour trip that started in the Jordanian capital. The team was received by the Moroccan ambassador to Palestine and the governor of the Palestinian province of Al Arish and representatives from Hilal Al-Quds.
The first leg of this game was played, last week, in Casablanca and was attended by Raja Casablanca and Hilal Al-Quds fans.
