Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Morocco’s Head coach Walid Regragui has responded to accusations made by DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba, who claimed that the Moroccan manager made racist remarks against him.
A heated exchange took place between Regragui and Mbemba following the Morocco vs DR Congo 1-1 game on Sunday.
The exchange came after the Atlas Lions head coach approached the Congolese captain to shake hands with him following the game.
Rgragui told the French sports outlet L’Equipe that the player had been looking somewhere else as if he did not want to shake hands with the Moroccan coach.
“I held his hand, and he started screaming as is evident in pictures and the widely circulated videos,” Regragui said, strongly denying claims that he made racist comments in his altercation with the Congolese player.
“I really didn’t like these dishonest claims. Since he only talks about religion in his statement to the press, let him be a little honest with himself,” Regragui stressed.
The Atlas Lions coach’s comments come after Mbemba told the press on Sunday that he would not get into details of his allegations of racist abuse from Regragui, claiming that it was “better… to keep silence” in the wake of such a controversy.
“Everybody knows me, I respect everyone … but I never thought I’d hear that word from the coach, that it would come from his mouth,” Mbemba said, further claiming to have videos other than the widely circulated one that better document his heated exchange with Regragui. However, he said he would not share these alleged other videos because he believes in God and His righteousness.
Read also: DR Congo Slows Down Morocco’s Impressive AFCON Debut With 1-1 Tie
In his response, Regragui emphasized that Mbemba even confronted him and his assistant on the sidelines before the end of the match.
“He spoke to us disrespectfully. Desabre knows that, and despite that at the end, I went to shake his hand to also say to him ‘Why are you talking to me that way? And then he looked away,” Regragui explained. Mbemba “insinuated a lot of things… If he has images other than those seen on television, let him show them, with pleasure,” he added.
In the wake of the much-reported altercation, there have been converging reports indicating that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has launched an investigation to shed light on the heated exchange. According to the reports, the DR Dongo captain was subject to racist comments online after the tense game with Morocco.
Meanwhile, the captain of the Moroccan national team, Romain Saiss, wrote a social caption to call on fans to end racism and hatred, stressing that football’s ultimate goal is to advocate for peace and unity.
“Football remains a sport. Of course with the tension, adrenaline, and much more…We are all proud to represent Africa, proud to be African regardless of our origins,” Saiss wrote. “Let’s not divide ourselves; this is still football. Let’s stay united to show the best representation in this CAN and the fraternity that unites our continent.”
