Five Moroccan Youth Handball Players Disappear During Tournament in Poland
This incident marks the second involving Moroccan athletes in the country within ten days.
Players left their delegation during the Under-19 tournament in late June, embarrassing Moroccan officials and prompting a formal investigation.
Morocco's National Authority for Fighting Corruption in Sports contacted the Ministry of National Education, Preschool, and Sports about what they called a 'sporting and diplomatic scandal.'
Investigators suspect 'internal collusion' may have helped the players escape, with officials having identified a man over 30 years old who traveled with the delegation and allegedly has connections to illegal migration networks.
As it happens, the Moroccan Handball Federation faces criticism for failing to send responsible officials to accompany the young players and staff during the tournament.
This incident follows another disappearance involving Moroccan handball players in Poland. Two members of Morocco's Under-21 national team vanished during the World Championship held from June 18-29.
Oussama Hakaoui and Moubarak Messaoudi, both players from Ittihad Nouacer, left their hotel during a stopover in Bologna, Italy, before the team traveled to Poland.
Neither player has made contact since their disappearance.
The back-to-back incidents signal growing concerns about Moroccan athletes using sporting events as opportunities to illegally immigrate.
Anti-corruption officials have called for an urgent investigation into both cases.
In 2022, a similar case took place when three players from Morocco's national amputee football team fled the Amp Futbol Cup 2022 in Poland.
Meanwhile, eight Moroccan minors fled the World School Championship in Slovakia in May of the same year. Tags: Handball playersHandball tournamentMoroccoPoland
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