Riots broke out in Montpellier, France, between Moroccan and French fans as Morocco lost 2-0 to France in the FIFA World Cup semi-final at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
Watch the video of the riots here:
Users on Twitter reported that numerous riot cars have been deployed in Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, in anticipation of the riots. With the match ending, the reinforcements are also arriving in central Paris and an official warning for potential riots has also been put in place.
France and Morocco are neighbors and there are millions of Moroccans living in France. With the rivalry so so tight, a clash between them was always likely and the French authorities made adequate arrangements to tackle it.
France won the match 2-0 thanks to goals by defender Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani. Although Morocco created many chances to score and came close to France’s goal many a time in the match, they eventually failed to net.
France will now be playing Argentina in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Sunday, December 18. The 2018 World Cup winners created history today by becoming the sixth team in history to reach the final of two consecutive World Cups.
Morocco, on the other hand, will be playing Croatia for the third-place playoffs on Saturday, December 17. Their run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be remembered as one of the best underdog performances ever in the history of the FIFA World Cup.
