France beat Morocco 2-0 in a World Cup quarter-final played in Boston on July 9, 2026. By 1 a.m. London time, four people were under arrest and a Metropolitan Police officer was in the hospital with a head injury.
The disorder unfolded in the Edgware Road area, a stretch of central London long associated with the city’s Moroccan and broader Arab diaspora community.
What happened on Edgware Road
As the final whistle blew in Boston, the mood in parts of London turned from tense to volatile. Crowds threw fireworks and debris at officers, and one police officer was struck by a glass bottle, sustaining a significant head injury before being treated and later released from hospital.
No other injuries were reported during the clashes. The Metropolitan Police dispersed the crowd by approximately 1 a.m., confirming four arrests on charges of violent disorder.
