By Amira El Msaiti

Rabat – Egypt’s ambassador in Rabat, Ahmad Ehab Jamaleddine, has apologized for an article published in an Egyptian news outlet which claimed that Morocco is a country of “black magic and Jinn.”

The article was published ahead of Sunday’s football match between Morocco and Egypt.

Published on January 28, the article’s writer, Lobna Abdallah claimed that “works of magic and sorcery” would dominate the match as “magic and the use of Jinn is what distinguishes Morocco the most.”

The article did not discuss football. Instead, it asked whether Egyptian goalkeeper Issam El Hadri, also accused of being involved with black magic, would be able to overcome the magic cast by Moroccans and break their curse. It was this “black magic,” Abdallah asserted, which made Egyptians unable to win a single match against Morocco in 31 years.

Following the publication of the article and the controversy it created, The Egyptian ambassador in Rabat, Ahmad Ehab Jamaleddine addressed an apology to the people of Morocco. “In the name of the vast majority of the people of Egypt, I offer my sincere apologies to the Moroccan people for the offensive article published by the Youm7 newspaper. We are proud of our friendship with Morocco.

I have contacted the website so that it would remove the polemical publication, which was done without delay, ” wrote the ambassador. The director of Youm7 withdrew the article, and explained that its content reflected the personal opinions of its author and did not fit with the editorial line of the website.