A Moroccan court fined a football fan $1,000 after ruling that calling a club president a “donkey” on Facebook constituted an insult [Getty]
A court in Morocco has fined a football supporter 10,000 dirhams (around $1,000) after he repeatedly referred to a club president as a “donkey” in Facebook posts criticising his management of the team.
The ruling was issued by a court of first instance in the northwestern city of Kenitra, which found the term constituted an insult under Moroccan law.
According to court documents cited by Moroccan news outlet Alyaoum24 on Monday, the supporter had published posts attacking the president of a football club, accusing him of leading the team “towards disaster” and repeatedly describing him as a “donkey”.
The man was subsequently arrested, prosecuted and ordered to pay the fine.
The court reportedly ruled that describing someone as a “donkey” on widely accessible social media platforms amounted to an insulting and degrading expression, even if it did not meet the legal threshold for defamation.
Under Moroccan law, defamation involves making a specific allegation that harms a person’s honour or reputation and can be proven or disproven. The court found that the term “donkey” was insulting but did not constitute such an allegation.
While some Moroccans regard the usage of “donkey” as an unacceptable personal insult, others view it as less severe than slurs with sexual or racist connotations.
Moroccan law treats both insult and defamation as offences against personal dignity and reputation, with penalties applying whether the acts occur in person, through traditional media, or on social media platforms.
The law defines an insult as any offensive or degrading expression directed at a specific person without attributing a particular act that could damage their honour or standing.
As social media use has expanded, Moroccan authorities have introduced additional legislation to tackle online abuse and defamation.
Among the measures is Law 103.13 on combating violence against women, which includes tougher penalties for online defamation and harassment, particularly when women are targeted.
Article 447-2 of Morocco’s penal code also provides prison sentences and financial penalties for anyone who publishes or distributes false claims that could damage another person’s reputation.
