Morocco coach Regragui's African Cup ban lifted

Morocco coach Walid Regragui's two-game suspension from the Africa Cup of Nations has been overturned following an appeal, the country's football federation announced on Friday.

Regragui was banned for four games, with two suspended, and fined for bringing the competition into disrepute.

The decision means that Regragui, who had to watch his country's final group game against Zambia from the stands on Wednesday, will return to the bench for the last-16 match against South Africa on Tuesday.

Regragui, who led his country to the World Cup semi-finals in 2022, got into a spat with Democratic Republic of Congo captain Chancel Mbemba after their Group F match in San Pedro on Sunday.

The incident resulted in scuffles on the field between opposing players and staff, as well as alleged fighting in the stadium's tunnel, but all of this occurred outside of public view.

Regragui went to shake Mbemba's hand at the end of the game, but he held it as he tried to remonstrate with the defender, who repeatedly tried to pull away before breaking free.

That sparked mayhem at the end of a 1-1 draw.

"He insulted me and my assistant on the sidelines before the end of the match," Regragui told reporters.

"And in the end, despite that, I went to shake his hand but also to ask him: ‘Why are you talking to me like that?’. Then he looked away like he didn’t want to shake my hand," he added.

"He claimed I had called him an idiot but I never said that. He should be a little honest with himself."

Morocco's football federation condemned the decision, but its appeal came only hours before the Zambia game, during which Regragui was in the VIP stand, speaking to his bench as assistant Rachid Ben Mahmoud replaced him on the touchline.

SportsLigue