The Qatar World Cup ticket-tampering scandal has attracted public attention among the most prominent events of 2023. Especially after the arrest of Mohamed El Hidaoui, president of Olympique Safi and former parliamentary representative of the National Rally of Independents party. In addition to him, journalist Adel Al-Amari was charged with two charges, one of which was participating in the fraud.

Al-Hidawi was accused of “swindling and selling match tickets at a higher price, selling match tickets without a license, and participating in the scam.”

The scandal caused an uproar amid the brilliance of the “Atlas Lions” team in the Qatar World Cup, when many fans were deprived of their free tickets that the Moroccan Football League had promised them after they headed to Doha.

These tickets were sold on the black market for four or five times their value, and the Moroccan authorities pledged to punish those responsible for embezzling the tickets.

The judicial police had heard Al-Hidawi and Al-Amari as part of an investigation opened by the Public Prosecution, at the beginning of last May. After that, they were referred to the first instance trial in the judicial court in Casablanca. Al-Hidawi was under arrest, and Al-Amari was released, on charges of “fraud and selling match tickets.” At a higher price, selling match tickets without a license, and participating in fraud.”

The Court of First Instance sentenced Mohamed El Hidawi to a year and a half in prison last August, while Adel Al Amari was sentenced to 10 months in prison. However, the Casablanca Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, reducing the prison sentence to 8 months in prison. Al-Hidawi stresses his innocence of the charges against him, and his defense confirms resorting to the Court of Cassation. As for Adel Al-Amari, he was convicted of a fine of 10,000 dirhams, and his prison sentence was dropped after he was not charged with participating in the fraud.

The Constitutional Court stripped Al-Hidawi, a parliamentarian from the National Rally of Free People, who is in Okasha prison, of membership in the House of Representatives. He is the head of the Olympic Safi team and a well-known businessman in the region.