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Rabat – FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the news of him and Moroccan footballer Achraf Hakimi getting into an argument following the game with Croatia, saying that he “loves” Hakimi and that he is “a great player.”
“And he came and he apologized for what he did,” the FIFA chief said on Qatari sports channel Al Kass. “And in the heat of the match, you might say things that you do not mean.”
Infantino acknowledged that Hakimi might have wanted to say something about the refereeing in the game, before moving on to acknowledge Morocco’s performance during the competition.
“Morocco played great, great football, and we must praise Morocco’s performance,” he said. “Hakimi, Ziyech, all of them. The coach, a young coach.”
Infantino continued to praise Regragui’s ability to instill a system in the Atlas Lions in such a short time and highlighted the Moroccan team’s excellent defensive tactics and goalkeeper Yassine Bounou’s performance.
“They represented, somehow, two continents, because they represented the Arab World and Africa,” Infantino said. “And they qualified for the semi-finals, which some said was surprising, but only if you didn’t know the experiences of the players and the coach.”
The FIFA president also highlighted the role of the Moroccan audience and public in the team’s historic run. FIFA previously highlighted Morocco’s crowd as the squad’s “12th member.”
Following Morocco’s game with Croatia to determine the World Cup’s third place, Hakimi reportedly yelled at Infantino in protest of some of the refereeing decisions that took place in the game.
“I was a little disgruntled by what happened during the match, but the issue will remain between me and Infantino,” Hakimi told reporters afterwards. “I respect him a lot, and when I met him soon after I regretted using the words I did… I was feeling wounded after losing.”
Morocco lost its match against Croatia 2-1, finishing the World Cup in fourth place. The Atlas Lions’ finish is still the best one in the history of African and Arab participation in the competition.
