Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi was livid after his workforce’s World Cup defeat to Croatia and took his frustrations out on FIFA’s president.
- Hakimi indignant after Morocco defeat
- Raged at Infantino, say a number of witnesses
- FIFA need footage deleted
WHAT HAPPENED? Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 within the third-place World Cup play-off on Saturday after the Atlas Lions appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty for handball when Youssef En-Nesyri’s header hit Bruno Petkovic and when Hakimi was felled by a problem by the Croatia striker. Morocco additionally felt they need to have received a spot-kick final day out in opposition to France when Sofyan Boufal was stopped by Ibrahima Konate.
The selections haven’t gone down properly with Hakimi who approached the FIFA president after the sport within the tunnel to voice his frustrations, in keeping with a number of witnesses who claimed the soccer organisation is working to dam footage from turning into public.
WHAT THEY SAID: SVT Sports activities reporter Johan Kucukaslan defined: “They wished us to delete the photographs. It’s clear that these are embarrassing scenes for them, and it’s a bit naive of them to suppose {that a} dozen journalists mustn’t report on this once we witness it occurring.”
TV presenter Tom Egbers added by way of NOS. “He stood in entrance of Infantino, lower than 5 centimetres. With a raised voice, he ranted to Infantino in regards to the referee. It was painful.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Infantino kicked off the World Cup with a weird speech that raised loads of eyebrows. The FIFA chief was additionally booed by supporters when his picture appeared on the large display screen at matches all through the World Cup.
AND WHAT’S MORE: The refereeing has been known as into query through the match by some star gamers. Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes was left outraged by a few of the selections in his workforce’s defeat to Morocco, whereas Frenkie de Jong and Lionel Messi each hit out at referee Mateu Lahoz’s selections after Argentina’s win over the Netherlands.
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WHAT NEXT? The World Cup concludes on Sunday when Argentina tackle France within the last. FIFA will likely be hoping the match is remembered for the performances on the pitch by the gamers and never the match officers.