Moroccans have swiftly taken to social media to accuse Adidas of cultural appropriation over their newly designed pre-match Algerian soccer jersey.
The culture collection training kit for the Algerian national soccer team's upcoming season includes a multicolour shirt in a geometric design.
The German sportswear brand said they drew inspiration from the historic El Mechouar Palace in Tlemcen in north-western Algeria, and based the design on the zellige tiling that wraps around the palace's interior.
While many Algerians are excited about the kit launching later this month, the response from many neighbouring Moroccans on social media has been critical.
Lawyer Mourad Eljouati has even issued a legal warning to Adidas on behalf of Morocco's Ministry of Culture, demanding that they remove the kit in two weeks.
Mr Eljouati said in a Facebook post that it was "an attempt to steal a form of Moroccan cultural heritage and use it outside its context".
Is it really about the jersey?
The question now is did Adidas culturally appropriate this training kit?
The short answer is no.
The El Mechouar Palace was built in Tlemcen in Algeria in the 13th Century at the beginning of the Zayyanid dynasty.
In the western Islamic world – also known as the Maghreb, which refers to countries in north-west Africa — zellige tiling is the most traditional form of architecture.
The earliest zellige fragments were found in Tunisia around the 11th Century. It then made its way further west to the Iberian Peninsula and shaped the architectural style in Spain under the Andalusian Empire.
It became a generalised style throughout the entire Maghreb region by the 14th Century.
This means that Morocco and Algeria have a shared history and identity that dates back hundreds of years before the countries, and the tiling, even existed.
So if it's not about architecture, where is the animosity coming from?
Post-colonial tensions live on
This isn't the first time the two neighbouring countries have feuded over who owns what.
From couscous and tagine to the invention of Rai music, what started out as a friendly rivalry has intensified in past decades as the political situation has deteriorated.
The former French colonies have been locked in a stalemate over the Western Sahara since 1975 when Morocco annexed the territory from Spain.
Western Sahara has been fighting for independence since 1973, led by the nationalist movement known as the Polisario Front.
The Polisario Front is recognised by the UN, the African Union and other countries to be a legitimate representative of its people.
And Algeria has financially backed the Polisario Front and its military, clearly opposing Morocco's decision to annex the land.
The spat over the territory has caused diplomatic relations to continue to worsen between Algeria and Morocco, and the land border between them was permanently closed in 1994.
Trump deal escalates tension
Things took a turn for the worse in December 2020 when Morocco became the fourth Arab League country to normalise ties with Israel.
The Trump administration brokered the deal, and Morocco agreed to it under the condition that the United States wouldn't recognise the Western Sahara as an independent state.
In response, Algeria doubled down on its support for the Palestinian political establishment and its people.
And while both Moroccan and Algerian people were able to separate politics and government actions and remain friendly, this latest turn soured relationships on all levels.
Today, it's not uncommon to see young people on both sides of the Algeria-Morocco border arguing with each other, with the same tone reflected on social media.
The hard border is its own source of heartbreak, with many families separated as it split towns right down the middle.
They can only visit each other via air or sea, and so for those who can't afford to travel, the checkpoint is the closest they can ever get to their loved ones.
The checkpoints are a metaphor for the region, where people who once shared histories, culture and bloodlines are divided by an arbitrary line.
The Algerian training kit is just the tip of the iceberg in a long-running feud, and it's not clear if the two sides will ever see eye to eye.
