Morocco national team coach Walid Regragui will miss the Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 match against Bafana Bafana in San Pedro on Tuesday.
Regragui has been fined and banned for four matches by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after he was involved in a heated spat with DR Congo defender Chancel Mbemba, pulling his hands and pointing at him at the same time immediately after the final whistle.
He also had his say in the post-match in that game that ended in a 1-1 draw.
However, the former Wydad Casablanca coach will see two games suspended for a year on condition that he isn’t found guilty of such issues again.
The 48-year-old, who led Morocco to the record-breaking in the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final, has already sat out on one game – missing Morocco’s final Group F game against Zambia on Wednesday, meaning the Bafana game would be his second and last.
The Moroccan FA have also been fined and found guilty by the CAF and along with the Congolese FA.
Read the full CAF statement below:
The CAF Disciplinary Board found the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football, the Fédération Congolaise de Football Association, and coach Mr. Walid Regragui guilty on separate charges and ruled as follows.
1. Imposed a fine of USD 20,000 on the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football
2. Imposed a fine of USD 20,000 on the Fédération Congolaise de Football Association
3. Suspended Mr. Walid Regragui for four (4) matches.
Two of these matches are suspended for a period of one (1) year
4. Imposed a fine of USD 5,000 on Mr Walid Regragui
5. Imposed a fine of USD 10,000 on the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football for the use of smoke bombs by its supporters during the match. USD 5,000 of this amount is suspended.
The decisions will become enforceable upon the expiry of the time limit for appeal in accordance with the CAF Disciplinary Code.
Bafana will meet Morocco after they drew with 2004 champions Tunisia to finish second in Group E with four points behind winners Mali, who were also held to draw by Namibia on Wednesday.
Bafana will be meeting Morocco for the fifth time in this competition since 2002. Their last appearance in this competition against the North African side was a 1-0 loss in the 2019 edition in Egypt in the group stages.
They most recently met in the qualifiers for this AFCON, with Morocco winning the first encounter, before Bafana were victorious in South Africa seven months ago.
