Qatar 2022: Algeria "has no problem" with Morocco because of their athletic achievements.
The official media in Algeria have maintained their media blackout about the success of the Moroccan team in the 2022 World Cup. This was also true following the Atlas Lions' victory over Portugal, which earned him a spot in the championship game.
This latest achievement was carried out in secret in Algeria under the command of the military and Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Mais! The Algerian people have not benefited from the anti-Maroc strategy.
The public opinion was far from imagining that a worse species will eventually replace them when the hunt for sorcerers in Algeria, which began in 2019, was announced as an effort to root out the "Issaba" (the gang, ndlr) of wrongdoers.
We don't have a problem with Moroccans; it's them who have a problem with us, said Abdelmadjid Tebboune in interviews in 2020 and 2021, adding that "the initiative" to resolve the bilateral dispute should come from Morocco.
How many times has Algeria ignored the calls for reconciliation made by King Mohammed VI in his speeches? How many times has the government ignored requests to discuss issues in order to find solutions?
The Algerian government, which claims to have no issues with Morocco, has simply suspended diplomatic relations with that country. It has also terminated the gas supply agreement that connected Algeria to Spain via the United Kingdom, and it has accused its neighbor of having destroyed the Kabylie while that neighbor had offered to send it some Canadian troops.
Official Algeria, which has no issues with Morocco, has rejected several attempts at Arab-led mediation. Official Algeria continues to remain silent when the Moroccan team wins sporting events. The historical exploit of the Lions of the Atlas, athletes who have no connection to politics, has made the algerian leaders envious.
The Moroccan national football team has advanced to the World Cup semifinals. This remark seems absurd to the extent that Moroccans, Africans, Arabs, and Muslims worldwide have wished for it. No country representing these peoples has ever made it to the World Cup quarterfinals, and this victory belongs to all of them. This accomplishment should inspire hope rather than fuel the hatred of the algerian leaders.
The Algerian people weren't fooled, and just like when they qualified for the quarterfinals, they continued to celebrate with their neighbors in the streets and wilayas throughout the nation, expressing their joy at seeing their Muslim, African, and Maghrébin brothers competing alongside the world's best teams and champions.
The explosive success of the Lions of the Atlas has exposed the flaws in the algerian government's infantile policy toward its neighbor, Morocco. The cheers and cries of joy were louder than the silence of the media and Algerian officials, who were the only ones who did not express their congratulations to the Moroccan government.
Given that no victory of an athlete or team from Algeria has ever been criticized in Morocco, the meek behavior of the algerian government has shown to global leaders from whose side the real issue between the two countries stems.
Following the Fennecs' victory in the 2019 Cup of the Continent, the King addressed an email of congratulations to the former president of Algeria on behalf of all Moroccans. He used the intermediary Abdelkader Bensalah.
It is a pleasure for me to express to my fellow Algerians the warmest congratulations for this continental football achievement. In this historic moment, it is nice to express the pride of this well-deserved victory to the brotherly people of Algeria in my own name and on behalf of the Moroccan people, he wrote in his greeting.
Also, it's important to remember that Morocco has frequently supported Algeria in both political and sporting arenas. In 1958, when Algeria wasn't yet independent, King Mohammed V didn't hesitate to sanction a solidarity match between Morocco and the ALN team (which was not recognized by FIFA), despite the threat of having his nation's membership in FIFA suspended. In order to do this, Algerian leaders would have had to be the first to recognize the accomplishments of the nation that had done so much for them in their quest for independence.