Achraf Hakimi allegedly confronted FIFA President Gianni Infantino following Morocco’s World Cup third-place play-off loss to Croatia on Saturday.
After losing to Croatia in the World Cup third-place play-off, Moroccan star Achraf Hakimi reportedly confronted FIFA president Gianni Infantino on camera.
Hakimi’s Morocco, who astonished the competition with their incredible run to the semi-finals, were denied the bronze medal in Qatar after Croatia won at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday thanks to two outstanding goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic. While they may be held responsible for a number of squandered opportunities, Morocco was incensed with the refereeing in the fiercely contested game.
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Their main source of ire was the Atlas Lions’ denial of a penalty kick for handball after Youssef En-header Nesyri’s struck Bruno Petkovic; however, replays revealed the ball had really struck Bruno Petkovic’s back. The same Croatian forward’s challenge that caused Hakimi to fall to the ground left Morocco in a rage as Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim allowed play to continue without issuing a booking.
Walid Regragui’s team let their emotions get the better of them, resulting in protests after the game on the field. But the much-maligned president of FIFA continued to feel his anger even after Hakimi exited the pitch. The Paris Saint-Germain right-back reportedly pleaded with Infantino about the refereeing in a “nice and frantic” manner as he awaited to present Croatia with their medals, according to beIN Sports.
Although the situation is believed to have calmed down after Hakimi’s teammates led him away, it is also said that FIFA is seeking to prevent the tape from being seen by the general public. According to Johan Kucukaslan, a reporter for SVT Sports, “They wanted us to erase the photographs.” They are clearly embarrassed by these events, therefore it is a little stupid of them to believe that a dozen journalists won’t report on them when we see them in action.
It’s not the first time Morocco has felt unfairly treated; after their semi-final loss to France by a score of 2-0, they were also left fuming at the referee.
The fact that FIFA recently gave them the 2023 Club World Cup will probably not be enough to comfort them, despite the fact that manager Regragui made an effort to boost morale after the game after his team had defeated Belgium, Spain, and Portugal in their seven-game campaign.
Achraf Hakimi and his Moroccan colleagues were enraged by a number of choices.
Following the game, Gianni Infantino apparently sensed Achraf Hakimi’s anger.
The Morocco manager claimed, “Before the competition, we were given 0.01 percent probability of doing this, and we got to the last four. “If you had told me before the competition that we would today be among the top four teams in the world, I would have taken it. I wouldn’t have made any changes.
“Croatia, one of the top three teams in the world, was significantly stronger than we were, as was France, which is no fault of theirs. The past ten years have been devoted to our efforts to catch up. Additionally, playing Belgium, Spain, and Portugal taught us a lot. We have demonstrated our ability to compete against some of these great teams.
Other African nations ought to be inspired by this. European teams have it in their DNA to advance to the finals, and we need to cultivate it in ourselves as well. Eventually, we could take home the World Cup.