Sonny Bill Williams ditches the All Blacks to watch his ‘Muslim brothers’ play Morocco in the World Cup in Qatar – but his fans get offside
Cross-code superstar Sonny Bill Williams has shown his support for Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar – but managed to rub some of his fans the wrong way on social media by referring to the world game as a “disease”.
Williams, 37, is a devout Muslim, having converted to Islam in 2009 – and was keen to cheer on his brothers in the Middle East, who were beaten 2-0 by France in huge fanfare on Thursday morning (AEDT).
The heavyweight champion took his family to the Sinuese nation to cheer on the surprise semi-finalists from Africa – and raved about the experience.
‘Such an atmosphere tonight, are all soccer games like this?’ asked former Manchester United and Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich on Twitter.
Bosnich later responded by saying, “Not all of my friends, but a lot of them … I hope the family and you had a great time.”
It also didn’t take long for many of Williams’ 924,000-plus followers to tweet when he was quick to point out the football.
Cross-code superstar Sonny Bill Williams shows his support for Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar
Williams flew to Qatar with his wife and four children to watch Morocco play France in the World Cup
The soccer term is used mainly in Australia and the US – and although many people follow the code closely, it has become known globally for football.
Williams later posted further pictures from the Al-Bayt Stadium, where he praised the Moroccan’s fighting spirit before saying that he can see why Les Bleus striker Kylian Mbappé is the match winner.
It’s nice to be able to travel 2 around the world to watch the Moroccan brothers playing, mashallah [what god has willed] that was a special air. Congratulations to the French team – too good tonight in Doha, he wrote.
Born in New Zealand, Williams moved to Australia as a teenager after being scouted by the Canterbury Bulldogs.
He made his NRL debut in 2004 and the hype was real, with “SBW” winning the award that same year in Belmore around the likes of Braith Anasta and Willie Mason.
Four years later, Williams stunned rugby league supporters by walking away from Toulon’s French rugby union code.
Sonny Bill Williams made his NRL debut in 2004 with the Bulldogs – and won his second prize when on the books of the Welshmen nine years later (pictured)
Williams has also been successful in rugby, winning two World Cups with the All Blacks in 2011 and 2015
He then represented the All Blacks, winning two World Cups in 2011 and 2015 – as well as an NRL premiership with the Welsh in 2013, and has bounced back and forth between both football codes.
In the ring, Williams has been equally dynamic, winning nine career events and suffering just one defeat – last month against Mark Hunt, a former MMA star and wrestler.
It’s unclear if Williams has planned to box again – and she said her immediate focus is on spending time with her family.
He has four children – daughters Iman and Aisha and sons Zaid and Essa – with his wife Alana Raffie, a former South African model.
