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Morocco World News
New York, February 23, 2012
A group of Moroccan hackers are believed to have hacked the bank account of Morocco’s national coach Eric Gerets. According to a picture that went viral in social networks, especially on facebook, Gerets is reported to earn a monthly salary of 2.76 million dirhams ($300,000).
The controversy on Gerets’ salary has been inflating over the past few weeks, especially after the dismal performances of Morocco’s national team in the African Cup of Nations, which was held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea from January 22 to February 12.
Morocco was eliminated in the first round after it lost its two first games to Tunisia and Gabon respectively.
Since he was hired by the Moroccan Federation of Football in November 2010, the salary of Gerets has been subjected to total secrecy, a policy that has not been accepted by Morocco’s fans, nor by the media.
Earlier this month, the French TV channel France 24 revealed that Gerets earns $300,000 a month, a salary equivalent to nine of the coaches combined of other national teams that participated in the African Cup.
After Italian coach Fabio Capello resigned as manager of England’s national soccer team in early February, and based on his reported monthly salary, Eric Gerets, Morocco’s national team coach, has become the most highly paid national team coach in the world well ahead of deserving caches, such as Vicente del Bosque , Carlos Alberto Perera and Gus Hiddink.
His undeserved and exorbitant salary, coupled with the elimination of Morocco from this continental competition, caused much disgruntlement among Moroccans, most of whom called on the Moroccan Federation of Football to sack him.
On Wednesday, in a move that is considered as a slap in the face to all Moroccans, the Moroccan Federation of Football decided unanimously to renew its confidence in Eric Gerets.
This information has to be taken with much caution nonetheless, as there has been no confirmation over the hacking of the coaches’ bank account. The disclosing of this supposed snapshot of Gerets’ account statement, could turn out to be a hoax motivated by the anger over Morocco’s Federation’s decision to keep him at the helm of the national team.
