Adel Amrouche, the coach of the Tanzania football team, has been suspended at the Africa Cup of Nations finals for making insulting remarks about Morocco.
The Moroccan team had beaten Tanzania 3-0 in their opening game at the tournament on Wednesday.
The Tanzania Football Federation announced that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) disciplinary committee had suspended Amrouche for eight matches following a complaint submitted by Morocco.
However, CAF has yet to make an official announcement regarding the same.
In response to the suspension, the Tanzania Football Federation has appointed Hemed Morocco as the acting coach, who will be assisted by Juma Mgunda.
The suspension came after Amrouche made comments about Morocco’s influence in African football and their alleged role in influencing the appointment of referees.
He said that the Morocco federation was a proven power in the world of African football and they had a strike force within the African confederation doing their bidding.
Amrouche also criticized his federation for changing their pre-tournament preparation camp.
He had scheduled a preparation camp in Algeria and had even scheduled friendly matches against Mauritania, Cape Verde, and Anderlecht.
However, officials were influenced to relocate the place of preparation, and they were forced to prepare in Cairo instead.
During the interview, Amrouche also spoke about their World Cup qualifier match against Morocco in November.
Tanzania, who were playing at home, had requested to play at 2 p.m. to use the daytime heat in Dar es Salaam to their advantage against the Moroccan players, most of whom are based at clubs in Europe.
However, CAF scheduled the match for the evening, which upset Amrouche.
It’s worth noting that neighbours Algeria and Morocco have a frosty relationship, with the border between the two countries closed.
Their political rivalry has spilled over into the ranks of African football where last year the two were bidding against each other for the hosting of the next Cup of Nations tournament.
Morocco won the right to host in 2025, with Algeria withdrawing on the eve of the vote in what observers said was a face-saving exercise.
