Ghizlane Chebbak, the captain of Morocco has faced a really difficult and embarrassing question ahead of the match with Germany, for the FIFA World Cup.
She didn’t react as the situation was tense in the press conference room. The BBC reporter, later on, apologized for the question. She said that the question was silly and inappropriate. The question that caused the debate was about the sexuality of the players on the Moroccan Team.
“In Morocco, it’s illegal to have a gay relationship. Do you have any gay players in your squad and what’s life like for them in Morocco?”
The press conference moderator interrupted, saying: “Sorry, this is a very political question, so we’ll just stick to questions relating to football.”
But the journalist insisted to do the question and that caused the incident. She said that this was a question about the people.
Chebbak removed her earpiece before turning to her coach and laughing. There was some tension in the room as the moderator ignored the question and continued the press conference.
More News
Find all Competitions and Channels Satellite Data
According to Human Rights Watch, “Moroccan law also criminalizes what it refers to as acts of ‘sexual deviancy’ between members of the same sex. Article 489 of the penal code punishes same-sex relations with prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to 1,000 dirhams ($91).”
The journey to Morocco was not the expected one as they conceded six against Germany. Maybe the question was not a good sign at all and it occurred before an important match.
Shiren Ahmed, a CBC reporter wrote these words about the incident:
“Harm reduction matters and posing the question to the captain or coach was unnecessary.”
“Harm reduction matters and posing the question to the captain or coach was unnecessary,” she added.
“Asking a player about her teammates and whether they are gay and how it affects them when you know it is not permissible is bizarre and out of line. The captain cannot out players nor comment on policy bc [because] it could be dangerous for them, too,”
Meanwhile, FIFA has quite a supportive policy for the rights of the LGBTQ community allowing armbands and other symbols to support their case.