“Here, they live in poverty, it’s worse than the Stone Age”: after degrading comments about the Ivory Coast, Algerian Sofia Benlemmane expelled

Sofia Benlemmane est apparu dans une vidéo à son retour en Algérie. Capture d'écran TikTok

Algerian influencer Sofia Benlemmane was expelled from Ivory Coast after publishing a video in which she denigrated the host country of the African Cup of Nations, a- we learned from an official source on Friday, when she had already been sentenced in France for invading a stadium during a France-Algeria match.

"She was arrested in Bouaké (center) on Wednesday and taken to Abidjan on Thursday where she was questioned before being expelled,” ;AFP government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly. "She recognized and took responsibility for all her comments", he added, specifying that the procedure was carried out in conjunction with the Algerian embassy in Ivory Coast.

In a video published on Sunday, Ms. Benlemmane films herself in a street in an Ivorian town, declaring in particular: "Algerians need to know how they live here. We thank God for having a country like Algeria. Normally, Algeria should be located between Portugal and Spain. Because here, they live in poverty. It's worse than the Stone Age.

Numerous indignant reactions have ignited social networks, in Ivory Coast but also in many African countries including Algeria. "It's the CAN of hospitality, but with a minimum of respect and courtesy”, said Amadou Coulibaly on Friday.

"I just saw what I saw"

Upon her arrival in Algiers on Thursday, this influencer known for her stunts posted a new video where she said she was "very happy to have returned to Algeria&quot ;. She claims that the Ivorian Territorial Security Directorate (DST) took charge of her for 50 hours.

"For safety reasons, especially mine, we had to leave the territory. It grew, I didn’t understand, I just noticed what I saw,” she continues. Sofia Benlemmane is a very famous supporter of the Algerian football team which she regularly accompanies on trips.

Crusade against a referee in 2022

She stood out in 2022 for having led a real crusade against Gambian referee Bakary Gassama, accused of having favored Cameroon to the detriment of Cameroon. #39;Algeria in a decisive match for qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

She was also sentenced in France to a suspended prison sentence and a three-year stadium ban for having participated in the invasion of the pitch at the Stade de France, during ;#39;a France-Algeria friendly match in 2001. Algerian supporters are notably present in Bouaké where the Fennecs play their matches in Group D of the CAN. Algeria started with a draw against Angola (1-1) and faces Burkina Faso on Saturday.