Rabat – Moroccan football players have responded to the shocking decision made by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) a few hours ahead of Morocco’s game against Zambia on Wednesday.
Sofyan Amrabat said that he “does not understand why the coach was suspended. We miss him and we want to express love for him, dedicating the victory to him in today’s match.”
Rachid Benmahmoud, Regragui’s assistant expressed regret regarding the decision, stressing that he has confidence that the Moroccan Football Association, FRMF, will act swiftly to address the situation.
“We received the news of the suspension of the national team coach with great regret… I personally know the details of the case between the national coach and the Congolese player, where he provoked us but we were astonished by the suspension decision.”
Benmahmoud replaced Regragui yesterday during Morocco’s game against Zambia. The replacement came as CAF imposed a series of penalties against Regragui and Morocco’s Football Federation on Wednesday, leaving Moroccan fans and players stunned.
Regragui attended yesterday’s game, but from the stands instead of the sidelines of the football pitch.
Hakim Ziyech, who scored Morocco’s winning goal yesterday, expressed support for his head coach in style.
In a heartwarming gesture, Ziyech celebrated his goal by forming a heart sign with his hand, directing it towards the coach in the stands. This gesture came in the wake of Regragui’s suspension by CAF, following an altercation with a DR Congo player in the previous game on Sunday.
The confederation issued a penalty of a four-match suspension, including the suspended penalty of a two-match ban against Regragui. The decision also includes a fine of $20,000 against FRMF and $5000 against Regragui.
Another fine was imposed against FRMF of $10,000 for the alleged use of smoke bombs by Moroccan fans during the attack. “USD 5,000 of this amount is suspended,” CAF said.
FRMF said it would appeal the CAF decision, describing it as “unjust.”
The statement by FRMF said that the unjust nature is evident as “the facts have shown that Mr. Walid Regragui did not engage in any behavior that goes against the spirit of sportsmanship.”
Moroccan football fans similarly expressed support for the head coach through the launch of several hashtags, conveying their dissatisfaction with the CAF decision.
Many shared hashtags #We_Stand_With_Regragui and #كلنا_وليد_الركراكي (we support regragui) to express their anger over CAF’s suspension towards Regragui.
