Rabat – Morocco’s head coach Walid Regragui has come to the defense of Moroccan football player Zakaria Aboukhal as the player faces fierce criticism and what appears to be a smearing campaign by some IN France’s media landscape.
In a statement to the French sports outlet L’Equipe, Regragui spoke in defense of Aboukhlal’s character and values when asked to comment on the player’s alleged altercation with Laurence Arribage, Toulouse’s deputy mayor in charge of sports.
“Zak called me; he firmly denied having had an altercation with the appointed mayor,” Regragui said. “If there is a good player that we do not imagine in this type of story, it is Zak,” elaborated the Moroccan coach. “He is a respectful young man with a strong upbringing and genuine values transmitted by open parents, whom we had the chance to meet during the World Cup in Qatar.”
The Moroccan coach’s comments come days after French news outlet RMC Sport claimed Aboukhlal had allegedly made misogynist remarks when responding to Arribage’s request that Toulouse players make less noise during a speech by their coach at the Toulouse town hall.
“Arribage, assistant in charge of Sports at the town hall of Toulouse, turned to the players to ask for silence. In response, Zakaria Aboukhlal uttered this sentence: ‘At home, women do not speak like that to men,’” RMC Sport claimed in a report about the alleged incident.
Yet Arribage has cast doubt on RMC Sport’s coverage of the incident, with the local official telling the news organization that “there is no story to be told” about the alleged altercation.
Read also: Toulouse FC to Bench Morocco’s Zakaria Aboukhlal Till End of Season
Despite this strong denial, several news outlets in France have continued to target Aboukhlal with harshly critical coverage of the alleged incident, including the accusation that the Moroccan player showed contempt for the Toulouse deputy mayor in particular and for women in general.
In response, many of the footballer’s fans and teammates have launched a solidarity campaign to defend him as he navigates this onslaught of negative media coverage in France.
Joining the campaign of solidarity in his statement to L’Equipe, Regragui said: “My staff and I were totally surprised and dismayed” by the accusations and negative coverage that Aboukhlal has had to endure over the past few days.
Meanwhile, despite the lack of evidence supporting RMC Sport’s report of Aboukhlal’s reported misogynist comments, Toulouse FC has decided to exclude the Moroccan player from its squad, pending the results of an ongoing internal investigation.
“Faced with the serious allegations published by RMC Sport against the player of Toulouse FC, Zakaria Aboukhlal, the club is announcing that its player will train away from the squad pending the result of an investigation,” wrote the French football club in a statement on Twitter. “The Club will not make any further comment until the conclusion of the investigation.”
