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Moroccan claims over Ceuta and Melilla via fans, unions, and

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2026-10-17 00:43 UTC → 2026-10-22 21:48 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Moroccan claims over Ceuta and Melilla via ~~fans~~ fans, unions, and ~~unions~~

Moroccan football supporters have used sporting events to express political claims regarding the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla. In early September, the Fatal Tigers ultra group of MAS Fez displayed a banner in Spanish during a CAF Champions League match. The banner stated, ‘Ceuta y Melilla: dos ciudades, una patria: Marruecos’ (Ceuta and Melilla: two cities, one homeland: Morocco). Later in the month, supporters of Wydad Athletic Club in Casablanca displayed a similar message. The ‘Winners’ ultra group used a banner written in Spanish stating, ‘For Ceuta and Melilla, Morocco does not surrender, nor its people.’ These displays occur amidst ongoing diplomatic tensions between Morocco and Spain. In October 2026, the tension expanded to organized labor and civil activism. The National Union of Sea Fishing in Morocco, an affiliate of the Moroccan Union of Workers, organized a protest in Agadir on October 13 in response to the visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to Ceuta and Melilla. General Secretary Abdelhalim Seddiqi stated the protest aimed to defend Morocco’s ‘territorial integrity and national constants.’ Following the royal visit, civil society groups and activists in Agadir held demonstrations to denounce the event, characterizing it as a provocation that ignores Moroccan sovereignty claims. During these protests, members of the Sahrawi Youth Forum attempted to deliver a formal letter of protest to King Felipe VI, but the Spanish Consulate refused to accept the document. Protesters maintained that the status of the cities remains a ‘red line’ for Morocco. By late October, the issue moved into the Moroccan Parliament. During debates on the new government's program, both ruling coalition and opposition parties asserted sovereignty claims.

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