Algiers – Just minutes after Algeria’s national football team, ‘Les Verts’ (The Greens), were eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Royal Palace in Rabat announced that King Mohammed VI was suffering from lower back pain and required rest and treatment. The timing of this announcement has raised eyebrows and fueled speculation.
The announcement came as millions of Algerians were expressing outrage over what they perceived as biased refereeing, which denied them a penalty, as well as alleged assaults on fans and the arrest of journalists covering the match. This collective anger and disappointment effectively dominated social media and public discourse.
The question being asked is: why announce this news at this particular moment? It is well known that Algerians are highly active on social media platforms. When an issue captures their attention, it quickly trends, videos go viral, and the topic becomes the subject of widespread discussion. Had the announcement regarding the King’s health been made on a less eventful day, it likely would have triggered intense scrutiny. Questions about the severity of the condition and the reasons for the announcement would have dominated headlines for days.
Critics suggest the timing was a calculated strategy to minimize attention to the King’s health. By releasing the medical bulletin when Algerian attention was focused elsewhere, the announcement was effectively buried under a wave of anger and disappointment. Instead of dominating the news cycle, the story was quickly overshadowed.
Some argue that this calculated timing isn’t a sign of cleverness but rather of apprehension. A confident and strong government wouldn’t need to hide behind other events to announce ordinary medical news. Illness is a natural human condition, and transparently announcing it at any time should be the norm. Instead, the Palace chose to wait for an opportune moment, suggesting a lack of confidence in how the news would be received under different circumstances.
