Refereeing errors characterized numerous matches at CAN 2025 (December 21 – January 18). A few hours before the final, which will be held tomorrow (8:00 p.m.) at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium (Rabat), between Morocco, host country, and Senegal, there are apprehensions regarding this aspect. Is it better to use European referees in the future? Walid Regragui, coach of the Atlas Lions, gave his (necessarily subjective) opinion on this subject.
We cannot speak of an objective opinion as the Moroccans were not really disadvantaged by the referees during the continental mass. Moreover, there were even sequences where the Lions of the Atlas were able to count on a helping hand to continue their journey without hassle. We think in particular of 1/8 final facing the Tanzania with an unchecked penalty for the Taifa Stars in added time.
“Start from scratch”… once the deception is over
Returning to the suspicions concerning the men in black, Rulegui made a point of recalling that “ there are always complaints about the refereeing, before and after matches. » As for the option of using non-African (especially European) referees in the future, he thinks that “ the idea is to go back by calling on European referees, so we are fighting the wrong fight. »
The first person responsible for the technical bar of the Morocco believes that “ it might be time for everyone to sit down around a table to start from scratch. » The idea is good. However, the exhortation comes at a time when the host nation is one step away from clinching the crown. A trophy that obsessed him and for which he resorted to immoral methods in order to secure victories.
