March 28, (THEWILL) – A hotel worker in Madrid, who was employed for an event hosting the Moroccan football team, has been arrested for posting derogatory comments on social media against Islam and racist slurs against the players.
According to local police, the 27-year-old waiter, at Eurostars Hotel Tower, asked players for photographs before uploading them on Instagram with xenophobic insults and tagging the Moroccan team’s account, receiving over 70,000 views. The man is due to appear before a judge shortly.
“We wish to offer our most sincere apologies in relation to the unfortunate, reprehensible and unacceptable comments of a racist and xenophobic nature,” said Hotusa, the group that owns the hotel. The waiter was an external worker hired on an occasional basis and not part of the hotel’s regular staff, the group added.
Morocco coach, Walid Regragui, referred to the ongoing holy period of Ramadan, known in the Islamic world as the month of forgiveness and tolerance, and said, “We do not accept racism, but we want to show that Islam is a religion of tolerance. We forgive this person in accordance with the requirements of the Islamic religion and the customs of Moroccan people,” Regragui told reporters.
He also invited the worker to visit Morocco to “see the atmosphere between Muslims during Ramadan”. Morocco recently achieved the first-ever victory for an Arab country over five-time world champions, Brazil, and also became the first African side to make the World Cup semifinals last year, beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal along the way.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
