The illusion of many Moroccan fans of cheering on their team from Doha in the second semifinal of the World Cup in Qatar has been dashed, as Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has canceled seven of the 30 flights it had scheduled for Tuesday and on Wednesday. However, on Tuesday an agency source said only 14 flights had been scheduled. As reported by the company, the decision is due to the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities.
Previously, the Moroccan airline had announced that it would put 30 additional flights between Casablanca and Doha to make it easier for fans of the 'Lions of the Atlas' to cheer on theirs in the semifinal match that will face France today. In a statement, Royal Air Maroc announced that the trips would be operated by jumbo jets with a capacity for more than 300 passengers.
RAM has apologized to the affected customers and has said that it will refund the price of the plane tickets, which were around 5,000 dirhams (450 euros) round trip. The cancellation has grounded thousands of fans who had already booked hotel rooms and tickets for the match.
On the sporting front, France has more experience than its rival in the World Cup semifinals, and in today's match it will seek to win its third World Cup. If they did, they would do it for the second time in a row, after beating Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 World Cup final in Russia.
Morocco, for its part, wrote a page in history by becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals of a World Cup after defeating Portugal 1-0 with a goal from Youssef En-Nesyri. The African team has participated in six World Cups throughout its history, highlighting the 1986 edition where it managed to be the first country in the Arab world and Africa to reach the round of 16.
