Regarding the refereeing during their World Cup semifinal loss to France, the Moroccan football federation (FMRF) has complained to FIFA. Morocco’ thinks they ought to have received two penalties but the referee dismissed both claims.
When Sofiane Boufal went down in the penalty area during the first half, Morocco feels that they should have been given a penalty. However, referee Cesar Ramos only booked the winger for a foul on Theo Hernandez. In the second half, when Selim Amallah was knocked down, no one intervened, which infuriated the crowd.
In a statement apologizing for their complaint, the FMRF stated: “The FMRF has written to the appropriate organization to request a review of the refereeing decisions that cost the Moroccan squad two penalties that, in the opinion of several officiating experts, were beyond dispute. The video assistant referee (VAR), who was equally astounded, did not respond to these circumstances.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The decisions may have been significant for Morocco, who lost 2-0 to Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani to be eliminated from the World Cup.
Morocco’ has won the FIFA Arab Cup once, two African Nations Championships, and the African Cup of Nations in 1976. Six times have they taken part in the FIFA World Cup. They created history in 1986 by being the first African national team to win a World Cup group. They did, however, just lose 1-0 to eventual runners-up West Germany. Morocco advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first African nation to do so, the first with Amazigh players to do so, and the third nation to do so that is not a member of UEFA or CONMEBOL.
In April 1998, the Atlas Lions were rated 10th in the FIFA World Rankings. For three years in a row, starting in 2010, FIFA recognized them as the best national team in Africa.
