Former Morocco international Mustafa Haji says Morocco should be awarded the Africa Cup of Nations title because Senegal’s players left the pitch during the final, insisting football’s laws are clear.
Haji also called for the 2030 World Cup final to be staged in Morocco, criticised what he described as racism towards Africa, and said Morocco are capable of beating both Brazil and Argentina.
“Football is governed by laws. If players leave the pitch, there must be a punishment,” Haji told Kooora. “The regulations of FIFA and CAF are clear, and I hope this crisis does not happen again because of its impact on the future of African football.”
He said Morocco had done nothing wrong, while Senegal’s players had left the field, meaning the title should return to Morocco under the rules.
“If Morocco’s players had been the ones to leave, Senegal would have deserved to win the Africa Cup of Nations even before scoring the winning goal,” he added.
Haji believes the referee made a serious mistake by allowing the match to continue after the Senegal players had gone off. He also questioned why the video assistant referee and CAF officials did not intervene.
“The Senegalese know the law and understand what happened,” he said. “They won the match on the pitch, but they know the referee made his decision to ensure the game continued without bigger problems.
“According to CAF and FIFA regulations, if players leave the pitch for more than 10 or 15 minutes, there must be a punishment. Those players should have been shown yellow cards.”
Haji said Morocco had not “stolen” the trophy, but had won it in accordance with the events on the field. He added that the matter should not be allowed to continue indefinitely because it could damage the image of African football.
“I want the world to know that African football is governed by laws,” he said. “I hope the final ruling applies equally to everyone, but hopefully it will be in Morocco’s favour.”
Morocco and the 2030 World Cup
Haji wants the 2030 World Cup final to be held in either Casablanca or Rabat, arguing that Morocco has the facilities and capability to host it.
“I would like to see the World Cup final played in Africa again, after the first time in South Africa in 2010,” he said. “The time has come to raise the African flag.”
He also said there was racism in calls for the final to be moved away from Africa, pointing out that the tournament had been staged several times in Europe and the United States.
Although Lamine Yamal represents Spain, Haji said Moroccans continued to support the Barcelona forward.
“We love him and consider his blood to be Moroccan,” he said. “He was young when he made his decision, plays for the biggest club in the world and was under pressure. It was difficult for him to reject the opportunity to play for Spain’s senior team at such a young age.”
Haji said Morocco had hoped Yamal would choose them, but added: “Today, 40 million Moroccans support him with Spain.”
Haji compares Morocco’s 2022 and 2026 teams
Haji, who won the African Footballer of the Year award in 1998 and played at the 1998 World Cup in France, made 58 international appearances between 1994 and 2002, scoring 12 goals and creating six more. He later played for Aston Villa and Deportivo La Coruna and worked on Morocco’s coaching staff from 2014 to 2022.
He said the country’s football authorities had worked to develop the game since 2012, with dual-nationality players now asking to represent Morocco.
Haji believes the 2026 team faced a more difficult task than the side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in 2022 because opponents were no longer underestimating them.
“Everyone knew the strength of the Atlas Lions in 2026,” he said. “It is very difficult to play against teams that know your technical strengths.”
He highlighted 18-year-old Ayoub Bouaddi, as well as Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui and Brahim Diaz, as players capable of carrying the team through to the 2030 World Cup.
Haji said it was impossible to declare one generation stronger, but identified a difference in how opponents approached Morocco.
“In 2022, teams did not respect us football-wise,” he said. “In 2026, the respect was much greater. Teams did not want to face us because we were strong defensively and offensively and left no spaces.”
He praised coach Mohamed Wahbi for changing the team’s style as many as three times in a match, contrasting that with Walid Regragui, who he said used one approach throughout the 2022 tournament, built around counter-attacking once Morocco won possession.
Haji named France, Spain and England as the teams most capable of stopping Morocco. He believes Brazil are no longer the formidable side of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when they had players such as Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Rivaldo.
“Brazil are now an ordinary team that Morocco can overcome,” he said. “Argentina have lost 90% of their strength since Lionel Messi retired. He did everything, from scoring goals to providing assists, and I do not see the same outstanding level in the other players. Morocco can beat them too.”
Regragui, Wahbi and Morocco’s attack
Haji identified central defence as Morocco’s main weakness, saying the team currently had only Issa Diop and Nayef Aguerd at the position, with substitutes not at the same level.
“We need a pool of good players there, as we have in midfield and attack,” he said. “I hope we will have six high-level defenders in the future.”
He said Morocco had promising young attacking options, including Yasser Zabiri, who plays in Spain, and rejected the idea that the team faced a crisis in attack.
Haji believes Wahbi’s tactical flexibility allows Ismael Saibari to operate as a false nine, a number 10 or on either flank. He said the coach had been influenced by Barcelona’s style and could use a false nine as Pep Guardiola had done in the past and Hansi Flick does now.
“Saibari is my preferred choice because he can make the difference at any moment,” he said.
Haji described Soufiane Rahimi as a “joker” who gives everything, even when brought on for only two minutes, but said it would be difficult for him to start ahead of Saibari.
He also praised Regragui, calling him the best coach Morocco have had. Haji said Regragui had transformed the team’s image and changed the mentality of Moroccan supporters, allowing them to dream of winning the World Cup rather than simply progressing beyond the group stage.
Regragui stepped away after almost four years in charge and following intense pressure, Haji said, leaving Wahbi to take over only months before the 2026 World Cup.
“That made his task difficult,” Haji said. “Everyone expected a repeat of 2022, and it was also difficult for the fans to trust him.”
He added: “I hope Regragui returns to coach Morocco in the future.”
