Rabat: At least 10 people were hurt when rival football fans clashed in Morocco over the weekend, the interior ministry said on Monday, vowing a “rigorous” crackdown on hooliganism.
The ministry said four members of the security forces were among those hurt in “acts of vandalism” in the northeastern town of Sidi Kacem on Sunday after a second division match between Union Sidi Kacem and Maghreb AS of Fez.
Sunday’s violence follows a similar post-game altercation on Friday, when 69 people — including 15 police — were injured in the northern town of Al-Hoceima.
A ministry statement blamed hardcore fans known as Ultras for the latest skirmishes and promised to “act rigorously against these illegal groups”.
It added that several of the fan groups involved in violence had already been banned from attending games.
Football violence is reasonably common in Morocco, where two supporters were killed in March 2016.