Morocco coach Walid Regragui’s ban of two matches has been lifted after being appealed, which means he will be on the bench against Bafana Bafana in the Africa Cup of Nation quarter-final on Tuesday.
Regragui was fined and banned for four matches (two suspended for a year) by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after he was involved in a heated exchange with DR Congo defender and captain Chancel Mbemba in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group F match, pulling his hands and pointing at him at the same time immediately after the final whistle on Sunday.
Regragui added further flurry, making his feelings known in the post-match in that game that ended in a 1-1 draw.
CAF took no exception and confirmed that he would be suspended for four matches, but two of those games were suspended for a year on the condition that he isn’t found guilty of such issues again.
The 48-year-old, who led Morocco to the historic semi-final at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, has already sat out on one game – missing Morocco’s final group game against Zambia on Wednesday, and Bafana was going to be his second but it has been cancelled.
The Moroccan FA was fined and found guilty by the CAF along with the Congolese FA for their actions and failure to control their players.
“The CAF Appeals Committee cancels the arrest penalty issued against Mr. Walid Regragui,” said the statement released by Moroccan FA, as translated into English.
“The Appeals Committee of the Confederation of African Football canceled the punishment that the Disciplinary Committee had previously issued against the national coach, Mr. Walid Regragui, including the financial fine, after hearing the arguments of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
“The Disciplinary Committee of the Confederation of African Football had suspended Mr. Walid Regragui for four matches, two of which were suspended, in light of the events that accompanied the end of the match that brought together the national team and its counterpart, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the second round of Group Six in the African Cup of Nations competitions hosted by the Cote stadiums. Ivory Coast until 11 February 2024.”
