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National Coach Walid Regragui criticized the exaggerated handling of the post-match brawl between the Moroccan and Congolese teams that escalated to death threats and accusations of racism.
In a pre-Zambian match press conference, Regragui asserted that such issues won’t affect the group. He condemned false accusations of racist statements, vowing to defend his image.
“To say that I made racist remarks is shameful. I will defend my image to the end. I have received racist and death threats. This shows everything that is happening in the world. Mbemba has also received them. This is not possible…At the World Cup, we were all together, and at the AFCON, we are reduced to skin color, religion, and origin. But you will never make me fall for that.”
Frustrated personally and impacting his family, Regragui bemoaned being accused of racism overnight. Facing racist messages and death threats, he deemed the situation unfortunate.
“I have asked to be heard by the CAF. I have never insulted the player, it has never been in my education. What I did after the match, I do it all the time. Maybe there were tensions, and I should have let it go when he didn’t look at me. I have learned that now I will go shake the coach’s hand and that’s it…This hurt me, and it touched my family.”
“In his interview, he never spoke of racism; that’s where society is sick. People are taking advantage of it and it has gotten worse. And there are bad people on both sides, I am here to calm things down. I condemn the messages he received and mine.”
Commenting on the incident, Morocco’s football federation reaffirmed ” its commitment to the values of sportsmanship, ethics, and fair play, highlighting that these events will not affect the fraternal bonds between the two countries in any way,” the statement concluded.”The incident started when Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui, was verbally attacked by Congo captain Chancel Mbemba on the sidelines before the match concluded, he told the French newspaper L’Equipe.
Regragui claimed that Mbemba, instead of reciprocating the gesture, avoided the handshake and insulted him with racist remarks, leading to a physical altercation captured in pictures.
Source:Hespress