The choice of promising football star Al-Amin Jamal to defend the colors of the Spanish national team, instead of Morocco, in the upcoming sporting events, sparked mixed reactions on social media platforms.
The decision was a great disappointment for the Moroccans who hoped that the player would join the ranks of the first team, especially after a video clip broadcast by the “Shabakat” program – in its episode on (5/9/2023) – during which the young man appeared very happy after Morocco overthrew Spain in the Qatar World Cup 2022, He was also wearing the “Atlas Lions” shirt and kissed his crest.
The competition between Morocco and Spain to win the services of Jamal, the 16-year-old, came after the player’s brilliance with Barcelona in the first rounds of the Spanish League, and some went to compare him to the Argentine stars Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, in light of his great technical skills that predict a promising football future.
After announcing the representation of the “La Foria La Roja” national team, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente rushed to call Jamal to the list selected to face Georgia and Cyprus in the 2024 European Nations Cup qualifiers.
La Fuente commented – on the video clip in which Jamal appeared happy with Morocco’s victory over Spain in the Qatar World Cup – and said during a press conference that the sports administration of the Spanish Federation was the one who persuaded him to wear the shirt, although the task was difficult.
Platform interaction
And on the virtual networks, the reactions varied, as the sadness seemed clear to “Salim”, who said that Jamal “is an excellent player who could have achieved what he wanted with the Atlas Lions, but it struck me that he turned his back on his homeland.”
While Muhammad acknowledged that competition is normal for a rare talent, he rejected at the same time what he called “exerting pressure on the player and his family,” describing it as “unacceptable.”
In turn, Karam considered promoting “the conspiracy theory and Spain forcing the player to represent it as illogical,” and attributed this to the fact that “he is not arrested or kidnapped, he is a Spanish citizen and his rights are guaranteed, and he chose Spain and Europe.” This opinion was shared by Rashid, who called on the tweeters to be realistic, far from emotional, because Spain is a “candidate to win the World Cup.”
On the other hand, others hinted – including Abdul Qadir – that Jamal made the wrong decision, and he will regret it as many players who have been forgotten by history because they chose other teams, and he added, “Jamal has no safety, where is the patriotism, where is the belonging?”
It is noteworthy that the coach of the Moroccan national team, Walid Rekragui, was keen on joining Jamal in the ranks of the “Atlas Lions”, but he stressed that a player cannot be forced to join the national team, especially since he was born in Spain and plays with its youth team.
As for Jamal, he settled the controversy in the communication platforms and the media, and indicated that he was always clear about playing for Spain, in order to win the European Championship and the World Cup.
