RABAT, Morocco (AP) – Moroccan national team coach Walid Reglagui angrily rejected suggestions that the referee’s favorable calls were benefiting his team. africa cup of nations host.
“We are the team to beat. As the team to beat, people will try to find all kinds of reasons to say that Morocco has the advantage,” Reglagui said after his team’s game. 2-0 victory over Cameroon in Friday’s quarterfinals. “The only advantage Morocco has in this African Cup is that they will be playing in front of 65,000 spectators. The rest is on the field. We will talk on the field.”
But on the field, Cameroon could have received two penalties if experienced referee Dahane Beyda had not ruled in the home team’s favor.
Moroccan defender Adam Masina was involved in both, appearing to catch Brian Mbuemo’s right boot as it missed the ball when Cameroon wanted to equalize, and then appearing to elbow Etta Eyon on the head inside the penalty area in the final minutes.
Mr. Beyda served as the referee. Last editionit was also decided not to show a second yellow card to Bilal El Canous for stopping Danny Namaso’s counterattack just before Ismael Saibari scored the winner.
“A lot of people want to believe, or want others to believe, that we are favored by the referees. Personally, I have seen the penalties that could have been given to us. As for the referees, I never talk about the referees,” Regulagi said.
The Moroccan coach then spoke about the penalty his team was not awarded in the last tournament against South Africa in Ivory Coast, incorrectly saying he was “suspended for no reason” in that tournament.
Regulagi was suspended for two games in the last tournament. For his role in the dispute with Congolese captain Chancel Mbemba A scuffle broke out between players and team officials at the end of the game.
“Statistics show that we are always better than others,” Regulagi said, returning to this issue. “We create far more chances than our opponents. There wasn’t a single goal canceled for Cameroon or for any other team. When you want something to go away, you find an excuse.”
Mali and Tanzania also had penalty claims against Morocco denied in previous matches, but Morocco was also awarded a penalty after a VAR check. Draw with Mali.
Thousands of whistle-blowing Moroccan fans tried to help referee Abdou Abdel Mefileh make his decision by referring to replays before ultimately deciding to award a penalty to Mali’s Nathan Gassama for handball. He initially ignored a foul by Javad El Yamik on Mali’s Rashin Shinayoko in the penalty area, but a few minutes later he was awarded the foul after a VAR check.
It appears there was no VAR check in Friday’s game against Cameroon.
Morocco play all their matches at the 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, where large numbers of supporters chant for the home team, creating an intimidating atmosphere for opponents and referees.
“Cameroon played the game they should have played today. I think they lost to a better team. There were a lot of physical battles today, so I don’t think anyone, neither the players nor the coaches or anyone else, will talk about the referees. This is Africa. But today I think we deserved to win,” said coach Legulagui, adding that the team deserved to win all of their previous games as well.
“That’s it. We’re trying to play on that field. I don’t think that’s fair play for those who want to see us go down. The best team will win this tournament, Inshallah,” he said.
Morocco will play either Nigeria Or face Algeria in Wednesday’s semi-final. The final will also be held on January 18th at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
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Associated Press at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
