A 22-year-old Algerian man named Lyes Guernine has been sentenced to two years in prison after wearing the Moroccan national football team jersey at a domestic league match, sparking widespread outrage on social media and raising serious questions about freedom of expression in Algeria. The incident occurred on January 2, 2026, during a match between JS Kabylie and MC Alger at the Hocine Ait Ahmed Stadium in Tizi Ouzou, in the Kabylie region of northern Algeria. Guernine, who hails from Ait Mesbah in Tizi Ouzou province, was charged with undermining national unity, a charge that has drawn sharp criticism from human rights advocates and observers across the region.
The case first came to public attention on January 7 when activist Messaouda Cheballah published a post on social media condemning what she described as an unprecedented injustice. Since then, the story has gained significant traction across digital platforms, with thousands of users expressing disbelief and anger at the severity of the sentence. The young man's family has reportedly avoided speaking publicly about the case out of fear of reprisals, further fueling concerns about the climate of intimidation surrounding the affair.
Observers have pointed out a striking double standard in the way the case has been handled. Wearing jerseys of foreign national teams such as Argentina, Brazil, Germany, or Spain is a common sight at Algerian football matches and has never attracted legal consequences. The fact that only the Moroccan jersey triggered prosecution strongly suggests a political motivation behind the charges rather than a genuine concern for national unity. Algeria severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in 2021 and has since closed its airspace to Moroccan aircraft, imposed visa requirements, and promoted anti-Moroccan narratives through state media.
The timing of the arrest added another layer of irony to the controversy. The incident took place during the Africa Cup of Nations, which was hosted by Morocco in late 2025 and early 2026. During the tournament, Algerian supporters who traveled to Morocco were widely reported to have received warm hospitality from their Moroccan hosts, with scenes of solidarity and friendship between fans of both nations going viral on social media. Some Algerian fans even wore Moroccan colors as a gesture of appreciation, making the prosecution of Guernine appear all the more disproportionate.
The case has also drawn comparisons to the imprisonment of French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who received a seven-year sentence in Algeria after attempting to report on football in the Kabylie region. Human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the erosion of civil liberties in Algeria, where charges of undermining national unity or threatening state security have increasingly been used to silence dissent and punish perceived disloyalty.
Algerian authorities have not issued any official statement regarding the case, and mainstream Algerian media have largely ignored the story. The silence from official channels has only amplified the outcry on social media, where the case has become a symbol of what critics describe as the politicization of sport and the suppression of individual freedoms. As the debate continues to grow, the question remains whether sporting allegiance should ever carry criminal consequences, and whether a young man's choice of football shirt should cost him two years of his life.
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