Casablanca derby

As in most of the world's derbies, riots and fights can take place before, during and especially after a major game.

The first match between the two rival was in 1956 in which Raja won 1-0. The second match was won by Wydad 3-0 in 1957.

In 1966, The last Derby of the season was a decisive factor in winning the Championship title, Raja needed a win to secure the title while a draw suffice Wydad to be champion, Raja was leading the score 2-1 up to the last 10 minutes when Wydad Supporters invaded the pitch and the match was abandoned. Later the RMFF decided to replay the match and it ended in a draw 0-0, thus Wydad won the title.

In 1978, Raja players withdrew from the match against Wydad during the last 10 minutes of the second-half because they were mistreated after conceding a penalty with a red card to their goalkeeper. The game ended by a score of 1-0 for Wydad.[1]

In 1996, Raja won 5-1 in the quarter-finals of the Coupe du Trône, this score is the highest between the two rivals.

On April 6, 2001, Wydad initially won the match by 3–0, but Raja complained about the illegal participation of the substitute Abdelhaq Ait Laarif who was registered with both Wydad and Étoile de Casablanca. The Moroccan federation accorded the win to Raja.[2]

On September 29, 2001, during the 100th derby which was part of the semifinals for the Moroccan Throne Cup (Coupe du Trône), Youssef Belkhouja, a Wydad player, died on the lawn of Mohammed V Stadium, due to a heart attack.

On 24 May 2006, there was a fierce competition between the two rivals to clinch the league title. Raja scored first with a penalty by Abdellatif Jrindou, that result would have given Raja the title; but at the end of the match (at the 90+6 minute), a staggering strike from a long distance by the defender Hicham Louissi gave Wydad the draw needed to win the league for the 16th time after 13 years of the last cup.[3]

On October 20, 2007, during an encounter between rival team supporters, Hamza Eddali, a Wydad fan who was 17, died at the Casablanca derby. Hamza Eddali is to date the last person killed in the Casablanca derby.

On April 18, 2010, after Raja beat Wydad with a score of one to none, a fight broke out between Wydad and Raja fans, resulting in injuries and property damage. Over one hundred people were arrested.[4]

In 2012, Wydad requested from the FIFA and Royal Moroccan Football Federation to count the 5 titles that the club won in the regional championship organized during the Colonial Era in Morocco by french authorities before the creation of the Moroccan federation in 1956 as Botola titles.Their request was accepted and so, increased the number of titles of Wydad in Botola from 12 to 17. Wydad is the only club in Morocco to have their titles from the colonial era (before 1956) admitted by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and FIFA.

On May 8th 2016, which is the anniversary of the founding of Wydad, the 133th Derby was held in Tangier and, unexpectedly for Wydad supporters, ended in a big los of 0-3 in Raja's favor.

In 2019, the two rivals meet in the 1/8 Final of the Arab Club Championship, this was the first time a derby is held in a non-local competition.

As of 22 December 2019[5] ·

[6] · [7]

• First direct trade between Raja and Wydad was in 1973, the exchange was between Abdul Aziz Anini and Ezzeddine Abdel-Rafi.[8]
• Abdelkader Jalal, Mohammed Al-Tibari and Mustafa Al-Batash played and trained both teams.

Raja then Wydad

Wydad then Raja

Wydad leads Raja in terms of official overall trophies. Wydad have 34 domestic titles compared to 19 for Raja, while Raja leads in CAF Champions League,with 3 titles compared to 2 titles for Wydad[9].

• Casablanca clash guarantees drama