The CAF has launched an investigation against the Royal Moroccan Football Federation ("FRMF") and the Congolese Football Association Federation ("FECOFA") following incidents that occurred at the end of the match between Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo, during the ninth day of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire 2023, according to a statement from this organization published on its website Cafonline.com.

The statement adds: "The CAF will not make any further comment on this matter until the investigation is completed."

The tension escalated after the final whistle, which confirmed the 1-1 draw between DRC and Morocco. An altercation between the captain of the Leopards and the Moroccan coach led to racist insults across social networks. This has outraged FECOFA.

The Congolese Football Association Federation (FECOFA) refers to racist comments made by Moroccan players against Chancel Mbemba. This is the essence of FECOFA's statement a few hours after these incidents to denounce racist remarks.

This document signed by the President of the normalization committee of the governing body of Congolese football particularly mentions insults coming from the Moroccan players towards the Congolese.

"At the end of the Morocco vs DRC match on Sunday, January 22, 2024, counting for the 2nd day of Group F, the captain of the Leopards, Chancel Mbemba Mongulu, was subjected to discourteous remarks by the Moroccan players, following their coach, to the point of being victim of assault from them in the corridors of the locker rooms. In connection with all of the above, the Congolese Football Association Federation (FECOFA) expresses its indignation at this, denounces such unsporting attitude and reserves the right to use its protest channels by notably seizing the disciplinary bodies of the African Football Confederation (CAF) in this regard so that such deviation does not recur during football matches on the continent.", reads this statement.

It all started with an altercation between the Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui who went to shake hands with Chancel Mbemba, while he had just given a prayer after the final whistle. In the footage, one can see the two men shaking hands for a long time without Chancel Mbemba's consent but with the insistence of Walid Regragui who asked Mbemba to look him in the eyes. Walid Regragui would have taken the opportunity to whisper an expletive in the ear of the captain of the Leopards, hence the tension.

Sébastien Desabre as well as Moroccan and Congolese players quickly intervened to separate the two men. Youssef En-Nesyri, Morocco's striker, went further by following Chancel Mbemba into the locker room. The videos illustrating this scenario immediately went viral on social networks. Disrespectful comments flooded the web, notably on Chancel Mbemba's Instagram account.

Furthermore, the FECOFA invites all members of the Leopards delegation to uphold their cardinal virtues of sportsmanship, fair play and respect for human values by inviting them to "self-improvement and tolerance."

After the altercation with the Congolese defender, Walid Regragui spoke out, denying any misconduct on his part towards Chancel Mbemba.

"I have nothing to say about that. I have a lot of respect for Mbemba. Maybe it was the adrenaline that made him react like that. There's no problem. I regret because we did not give a good image, neither us, nor the DRC," he declared.

Morocco and the DRC as well as Tanzania and Zambia are part of Group F. After two matchdays, all 4 teams still have a chance to qualify. Morocco is at the top with 4 points, followed by Zambia and the DRC with 2 points each, and Tanzania is last with 1 point. The final verdict will be known at the end of the last matchdays scheduled for Wednesday, January 24. The DRC will face Tanzania, at the same time, Morocco will challenge Zambia.

Boni Tsala/Joseph Bahati