"break-in"..Algerian jersey mobilizes Moroccans..What’s the story?

Morocco has called on renowned German sportswear company Adidas to recall the Algerian national football team’s jerseys, saying the design was inspired by Moroccan Zellij script, which is considered a “cultural theft”.

Adidas, the sponsor of the new jerseys for the Algerian national team, tweeted a few days ago that: “The jerseys are inspired by the ancient Mechouar design. Palace in the Algerian city of Tlemcen.

This “tweet” greatly angered Morocco’s official cultural institutions.

The President of the Lawyers’ Club in Morocco, Mourad El Agouti, posted a tweet via his Twitter account saying: “The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Communications has instructed him to issue a court warning. legal representative of the global company Adidas at its headquarters in Germany.

The lawyer explained that it was about the use of a pattern of Moroccan cultural heritage, “Moroccan zellige”, in the design of sports shirts, originally from another country, namely Algeria.

In another tweet, he added: “We have warned the company that this is a cultural appropriation and an attempt to steal a form of traditional Moroccan cultural heritage and use it outside of its context, which contributes to the loss and distortion of the identity and history of these cultural elements.”

Zellij is a popular traditional production in Morocco of tiles decorated with colorful patterns and inscriptions, which are used to cover the floors and walls of houses, palaces and mosques.

Source: media