Morocco have suffered a huge blow ahead of their much-anticipated 2023 AFCON Last 16 clash against Bafana Bafana.
The two teams will renew their rivalry on Tuesday, 30 January, at Stade de San Pédro. Both camps will be eyeing nothing other than a spot in the quarter-finala with kickoff set for 10pm [SA time].
The two sides met twice in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers. In the first leg, Morocco won 2-1 in Rabat, then SA won 2-1 also in the second leg in Johannesburg.
The Morocco blow comes after CAF‘s verdict on Wednesday, 24 January following their investigation on the post-match incident that happened after Morocco’s second group stage match against DR Congo on Sunday, 21 January.
At fulltime, Regragui was involved in a scuffle with Congo captain Chancel Mbemba, which led to both benches intervening
MOROCCO COACH WALID REGRAGUI SUSPENDED AGAINST BAFANA BAFANA
The continental football governing body has come down hard on the Atlas Lions mentor following a fine and a suspension.
Regragui has had a successful spell with the national team as he defied all odds by guiding Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
CAF disciplinary committee found Regragui guilty and suspended him for four matches. However, two matches were suspended for a period of one year. The 48-year-old was also fined USD 5,000 [R94,350.50].
Regragui missed Morocco’s last group stage match against Zambia on Wednesday and will not be sitting on the bench against South Africa. He will be available on the bench if his side manages to progress to the quarter-finals.
The fine also stretched to the football federations of Morocco and DR Congo respectively. Both football associations were also found guilty and were charged separately.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the Congolese Association Football Federation were charged USD 20,000 each [R377,249.00].
CAF further imposed another USD 10,000 [R188,743.00] charge on Morocco. This was for the use of smoke bombs by it’s supporters during the match, however USD 5,000 [R94,350.50] was suspended.
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