Ghizlane Chebbak, the captain of the Moroccan women's team, was confused by a query from a BBC reporter asking if any of her teammates were gay and what it was like to be in a gay relationship in the nation. The incident occurred when Chebbak appeared for a press conference after a humiliating 6-0 loss to Germany.
As same-sex sexual conduct between men and women is prohibited in Morocco and carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine, the question was deemed inappropriate and forced BBC to apologise on the reporter's behalf.
The journalist asked the question to the 32-year-old, 'In Morocco, it is illegal to have a gay relationship. Do you have any gay players in your squad and what’s life like for them in Morocco?'
An official supervising the press conference intervened and said, 'Sorry this is a very political question so we will just stick to questions relating to football'.
Journalist refuses to take a step back:
Despite the official intervening, the journalist argued that it was anything but a political question 'It is not political, it is about people. Please allow her to answer'.
Perplexed, Chebbak smiled and shook her head. BBC later apologized and admitted the question was inappropriate, but also clarified that they didn't mean to cause any harm.
'We recognise that the question was inappropriate. We had no intention to cause any harm or distress,', the statement read.
Morocco suffers the heaviest defeat of the tournament:
Following Morocco's 6-0 loss to Germany, the former's manager described the loss as 'David versus Goliath' contest. The North African nation, ranked No. 72 was pitted against Germany, who are 2nd. It was also the heaviest loss of the competition thus far.
Morocco will next face South Korea on July 30th.
