Drama in Rabat: Morocco coach denies controversy, semifinal tension rises

Morocco coach Walid Regragui has rejected claims that referees are favouring his team as they prepare to face Nigeria in the 1XBET AFCON semifinals.

The Atlas Lions beat Cameroon 2-0 in the quarterfinals, although Cameroon felt they should have had two penalties. Regragui said,

“We are the team to beat. People will always say Morocco has an advantage. The only advantage we have is playing in front of 65,000 fans. Everything else happens on the field.”

During the match, referee Dahane Beida made decisions that Cameroon disagreed with. Morocco defender Adam Masina was involved in both disputed incidents, and Bilal El Khannouss was not given a second yellow card for stopping a counterattack.

Regragui avoided blaming the referee, saying penalties could have gone either way. He added that he was unfairly suspended in a previous AFCON over a separate incident.

“Statistics show we are better than our opponents. We create more chances, and no goals were wrongly disallowed. Some people just look for excuses,” he said.

Morocco has faced similar penalty controversies in earlier games against Mali and Tanzania.

All their matches are at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, where the huge home crowd makes it difficult for visiting teams.
Regragui added, “Cameroon played well, but we were the better team.

We deserved the win, and the same goes for our previous games. The best team will win this tournament, inshallah.”

Morocco will face Nigeria at the same stadium, which will also host the final on January 18. After reaching the 2022 World Cup semifinals, Morocco is seen as one of the favorites to win AFCON.