After making derogatory comments about Morocco, Tanzanian coach Adel Amrouche has been barred for eight games, a Confederation of African Football (CAF) disclosed.
The official stated, “I can confirm that the coach of Tanzania (Adel Amrouche) has been suspended for eight matches after comments he made about Moroccan officials in a TV interview.”
The coach, who was born in Algeria, is banned by the CAF disciplinary committee from the remainder of the Africa Cup of Nations competition in the Ivory Coast.
Tanzania, an outsider in Group F, lost 3-0 to Morocco on Wednesday. They will next play the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia in the mini-league.
In the African football scene, the Morocco Federation is a well-established force. Before the Cup of Nations, Amrouche stated on Algerian television that Morocco oversees African football.
He asserted that CAF authorities from Morocco choose who officiates senior men’s national team games and when they start.
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“We wanted to play a World Cup qualifier against Morocco last November in the afternoon, but CAF scheduled the match for the evening,” Amrouche said.
Since many of the Moroccan players would be traveling from clubs in typically colder parts of Europe, the coach felt that an afternoon kickoff in the scorching heat of Dar es Salaam would work to Tanzania’s advantage.
The 55-year-old coached clubs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Algeria as well as Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Kenya, Libya, and Botswana before being appointed by Tanzania last year.
