‘It's always been the case on the African continent’ — Morocco’s Regragui supports controversial refs

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has dismissed suggestions that match officials have been favouring the host nation at AFCON 2025, insisting refereeing controversies are not unique to Africa.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final clash against Nigeria in Rabat, Regragui urged critics to stop fuelling conspiracy theories and instead focus on football matters.

In recent days, some pundits and fans online have accused referees of showing leniency towards Morocco during the tournament, claims Regragui firmly rejected.

“It's always a shame to go down this path,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “They want to make people believe that matches are always won this way.”

The Atlas Lions boss stressed that debates over officiating decisions are part of the game everywhere, not just in African football.

“Let's not kid ourselves, it's always been the case on the African continent to sow doubts and controversies,” he said, before challenging the media to be more balanced. “You journalists need to do your job.”

Regragui pointed out that inconsistency in decisions is common worldwide, adding: “A penalty can be given one way in one match and not in another. A handball is called in one match and not in another.

“I watch a lot of matches because we have many players in Europe, and the controversies are the same everywhere, in Africa or in Europe.”

To underline his point, Regragui referenced Morocco’s 2–0 quarter-final victory over Cameroon, arguing that decisions did not always go in his team’s favour. He cited two incidents he believed could have resulted in penalties for the Atlas Lions.

“One of their defenders puts his foot on Abde (Ezzalzouli)'s ankle, and if VAR reviews the play, it's a penalty,” he explained. “The goalkeeper comes out to challenge (Ismael) Saibari and puts both hands in his head, that's a penalty. But neither were given.”

Despite those moments, Regragui said he has instructed his players to ignore officiating debates and concentrate solely on performances. “The only way to win is on the pitch, by winning our matches. You've never heard me talk about the refereeing after a match,” he said.

“We take responsibility, we move forward, and we work hard. That's the goal. We need to support the referees, the players, and stop always feeling like we're being wronged.”

Looking ahead to the semi-final against Nigeria, the Morocco coach added that he hopes for fairness. “We hope the referee will be fair to both teams tomorrow, as he has been since the start of the competition.”