Wydad Faces Setbacks as FAR Rabat Snatches Karmoun
Wydad’s summer, already heavy with legal battles and financial strain, has taken another hit. On the pitch and off it, the Casablanca giants are losing ground.
FAR Rabat strike while Wydad stall
The latest blow came from direct rivals FAR Rabat, who have muscled in to snatch defender Ferji Karmoun from under Wydad’s nose.
Wydad moved first. They secured the player’s approval and reached an understanding with Olympic Safi, confident they had their man. With the backline in need of reinforcement and the clock ticking toward the new season, Karmoun looked set to wear red.
Then FAR Rabat arrived.
Backed by a clear plan to rebuild a defence stripped of Yunis Abdelhamid and Nouh El Abd, the military club put serious money on the table. Their offer outstripped Wydad’s financially and turned the race on its head.
Karmoun’s expected move to Wydad collapsed. The momentum, and the leverage, shifted instantly.
Sensing the opportunity, Olympic Safi changed their stance. As reported by Moroccan outlet “Sport7”, the club decided to hand Karmoun to whoever comes up with the strongest financial package. Sentiment and prior agreements gave way to cold numbers.
For Wydad, it was a sharp reminder: in this market, hesitation costs.
FIFA rulings tighten the noose
If the transfer setback hurt, the news from Zurich cut even deeper.
FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber has issued a new ruling against Wydad in a case involving a former foreign player, according to the same report. That decision takes the total of final FIFA rulings against the club to five.
Each one is a weight on the club’s shoulders. Together, they form a barrier.
Wydad cannot freely register new signings until these cases are settled in full. The transfer ban hangs over every negotiation, every target, every plan for the coming campaign. Deals like Karmoun’s become harder to close when rivals know you are racing not just the market, but the regulators.
Club president Brahim El Assri is now working against time and history. He has inherited a backlog of disputes from the previous administration led by Hicham Ait Menna, a legacy of unpaid dues and unresolved complaints that has finally caught up with the club.
“Sport7” reports that Wydad must now deal with five FIFA files and more than seven additional cases lodged with the National Disputes Committee. Each file represents money owed, contracts contested, and the risk of further sanctions if the club moves too slowly.
The pressure is no longer theoretical. It is written in rulings.
Holding on to Benabid
Amid the chaos, Wydad are trying to protect what they still control: their core players.
At the heart of that effort stands goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid. Reliable, experienced, and central to any serious title challenge, he has become a priority case for El Assri.
According to Moroccan outlet “Le360 Sport”, Wydad have entered advanced talks with Benabid to convince him to renew his contract and stay. The club first rushed to clear all his outstanding financial dues, a necessary gesture in a dressing room where players have watched dispute cases pile up around them.
Only then did they table a fresh offer.
Benabid will decide in the coming days. His choice will say a lot about how players view Wydad’s immediate future: as a project worth trusting, or as a giant still trapped in its own off-field storm.
A club racing two clocks
El Assri is juggling two unforgiving timelines.
On one side, the legal and financial front: disputes at FIFA, cases before the National Disputes Committee, players past and present demanding their dues or seeking unilateral termination of their contracts. Each unresolved file threatens to prolong the transfer ban and limit the club’s ability to rebuild.
On the other, the football calendar: a new season fast approaching, rivals strengthening, and key targets slipping away, as Karmoun just did.
Wydad remain one of Morocco’s great institutions, a club used to dictating the tempo of a window, not chasing it. But right now, they are fighting simply to get to the start line with a settled squad and a clear head.
The question is no longer who they can sign. It is whether they can untangle this mess in time to compete at the level their supporters demand.
