They didn’t need a real reason. A jersey was enough.
ALGERIA GATE : AN Algerian MINOR boy walked toward Moroccan fans in the United States with nothing but goodwill and a smile, wanting to share in the joy of their World Cup qualification. What he got in return was a beating. Not a misunderstanding. Not a moment of tension. A deliberate, unprovoked assault on a child documented on video, confirmed by the victim himself.
This is what blind fanaticism looks like when it’s handed a crowd: cowards in numbers, attacking a minor because his shirt offended their tribal ego. No sportsmanship. No decency. No basic humanity. Just the ugliest face of a fanbase that confused a football tournament with a battleground.
The bitter irony? That Algerian child understood football better than every single one of his attackers. He came to celebrate. Because for him, the game has no borders. Meanwhile, those who beat him proved that their loyalty to a flag is worth less than the flag itself.
Solidarity erupted online and it matters. But solidarity is not accountability. Assaulting a minor is a crime by every legal and moral standard, and the faces behind this attack should face consequences, not anonymity.
Football was not built for this. And that boy, by simply showing up to celebrate, played the sport with more class than his attackers ever will.
