Fez - The inquiry committee looking in to the scandal at the Moulay Abdellah stadium has not yet completed its work. However, Hespress revealed a report of the investigation’s initial results on December 23.
The report explains that Moulay Abdellah stadium has undergone several renovation phases, especially in the 1980s, during which the pitch and the stands were refurbished.
The recent renovations had a total cost of MAD 13 million. Half of the cost was allocated to the pitch change and field preparation. Another MAD 13 million was spent on the construction of three football fields in Rabat, where host teams would hold training sessions.
The report indicated that the company that was responsible for the renovation of the pitch was under extreme pressure to finish the work quickly.
The survey also shows that even though the monitoring committee that visited the stadium on November 2 noticed several shortcomings on the pitch, it insisted that the Moulay Abdellah stadium host the final of the Throne Cup on November 18.
FIFA also recommended the transfer of the opening matches to Agadir because of the ‘disturbing’ reports from Ministry of Youth and Sport officials in November after the heavy rain in Morocco.
In addition, FIFA showed concerns about the quality of the turf. It said that the field had a very high level of salinity and the type of renovated turf did not correspond with what had been agreed upon the start of the maintenance, according to the report.
These recommendations were ignored by the Minister of Youth and Sport Mohammed Ouzzine, which led to the fiasco at the Moulay Abdellah stadium during the FIFA Club World Cup.