Morocco coach Walid Regragui has angrily rejected suggestions that his team is benefiting from favorable refereeing decisions as they host the Africa Cup of Nations.
«We are the team to beat. As the team to beat, people will try to find all kinds of reasons to say that Morocco has an advantage,» Regragui said on Friday after his team’s 2-0 victory over Cameroon in the quarter-finals.
«The only advantage that Morocco has in this Africa Cup is playing in front of 65,000 spectators. The rest is on the field, we speak on the field.»
On the field, however, Cameroon could have been awarded two penalties if the experienced referee Dahane Beida had not decided in favor of the home team.
Moroccan defender Adam Masina was involved in both. He appeared to catch Bryan Mbuemo’s right boot after missing the ball as Cameroon tried to level the match, and appeared to hit Etta Eyong’s head with his elbow in the penalty area in the final minutes.
Adam Masina (in white) during the controversial no-foul challenge against Cameroon’s Karl Etta Eyong during the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final. | Photo credit: AP
Adam Masina (in white) during the controversial no-foul challenge against Cameroon’s Karl Etta Eyong during the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final. | Photo credit: AP
Beida, who refereed the final last edition, also decided not to show Bilal El Khannouss a second yellow card for stopping Danny Namaso on a counter-attack shortly before Ismael Saibari took the win.
«Many people want to believe or make others believe that we have advantages from the referees. Personally, I have seen penalties that could have been awarded to us. As for the referees, I never talk about the referee,» Regragui said.
The Morocco coach then spoke about a penalty his team was denied against South Africa in the previous tournament in Ivory Coast, wrongly saying he had been “suspended without reason” from that tournament.
Regragui was suspended for two matches last edition for his role in a dispute with Congo captain Chancel Mbemba at the end of their match, which led to a fight between players and team officials.
“The statistics show that we are always better than the others,” said Regragui, looking back on this edition. «We create many more chances than our opponents. Not a single goal was disallowed for Cameroon, nor for any other team. If you want to say something, you will find a pretext.»
Mali and Tanzania also had penalty claims against Morocco rejected in previous matches, while Morocco were also awarded a penalty after a VAR check in the draw against Mali.
Thousands of whistling Moroccan fans tried to help referee Abdou Abdel Mefire make a decision as he consulted replays before finally deciding to penalize Mali’s Nathan Gassama for handball. He initially ignored Jawad El Yamiq’s foul on Mali’s Lassine Sinayoko before awarding it minutes later following a VAR check.
There appeared to be no VAR checks against Cameroon on Friday.
«The only advantage that Morocco has in this Africa Cup is playing in front of 65,000 spectators. The rest is on the field, we speak on the field,» Regragui said. | Photo credit: Getty Images
«The only advantage that Morocco has in this Africa Cup is playing in front of 65,000 spectators. The rest is on the field, we speak on the field,» Regragui said. | Photo credit: Getty Images
Morocco has played all its matches at the nearly 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, where the vast majority of supporters cheer for the home team, creating an intimidating atmosphere for opponents and referees.
«Today Cameroon played the match they had to play. I think they lost to a better team. I don’t think any player, coach or anyone else will talk about the referees because today there were a lot of physical fights. This is Africa. But today I think we deserved our victory,» said Regragui, who added that his team also deserved to win all previous matches.
«That’s it. We’re trying to play on that pitch. I don’t think it’s fair play for those who want to see us fall. The best team will win this tournament, inshallah,» he said.
Morocco will play Nigeria or Algeria in the semi-finals on Wednesday. The final will also take place on January 18 in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Published on January 10, 2026
