A teenage boy was killed in Montpellier, France as riots broke out by fans of Morocco following their World Cup semi-final defeat to France.
The boy, 14, was part of a large group of what appeared to be Moroccan supporters marauding down Rue de la Mosson in the southern French city when they happened upon a white hatchback with a French flag flying out of its window.
The group descended on the car, attempting to rip the flag away from its owner, when the driver panicked and performed a hasty U-turn to cross into the oncoming lane and make a quick getaway.
People in the crowd could not react in time, and the teenager was sucked under the wheels, sustaining critical injuries. Authorities confirmed he was transferred to a nearby hospital but later died.
Riot police are battling to maintain order, as French and Moroccan football supporters clashed in cities across France and Belgium following the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Scenes from the southern French cities of Montpellier and Nice saw fans fighting in the streets, launching flares at one another and setting fire to rubbish bins in the streets while cops brandished batons and used water cannons to quell the unrest.
Riots after France beat Morocco 2-0 in the World Cup
France is a former colonial ruler of Morocco and has a large Moroccan diaspora, estimated at around one million people most of whom are concentrated in Paris and the Mediterranean coast.
The riots broke out after France advanced to the FIFA World Cup final by beating Morocco 2-0 during Wednesday’s semi-final game.
The Moroccan football team made history by becoming the first-ever African team to get to the World Cup semi-finals. Morocco’s loss to France, however, means that the team’s odds-defying World Cup journey is at an end.
France is set to take on Argentina in the finals on Sunday, December 18th. The French team claimed its second-ever World Cup victory at the last tournament in 2018.
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