The Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) mentions racist remarks made by Moroccan players against Chancel Mbemba. Hence the FECOFA's statement issued a few hours after these incidents to condemn 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 directed at the Congolese player. "At the end of the Morocco vs DRC match on Sunday, January 22, 2024, as part of the 2nd day of Group F, the Leopards captain, Chancel Mbemba Mongulu, was subjected to discourteous remarks from Moroccan players, following their coach, to the extent of becoming a victim of physical aggression on their part in the corridors of the changing rooms. In relation to all of the above, the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) expresses its total outrage at this, condemns such unsportsmanlike attitude and reserves the right to use its channels of protest, notably by referring the matter to the disciplinary bodies of the African Football Confederation (CAF) so that such misbehavior does not recur during football matches on the continent," it reads in this statement.

It all started from an altercation between the Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui, who went to shake hands with Chancel Mbemba while he was just offering a prayer after the final whistle. In the footage, one can see the two men shaking hands for a prolonged period without Chancel Mbemba's consent but with insistence from Walid Regragui, who was asking Mbemba to look him in the eyes. Walid Regragui would have taken the opportunity to whisper a swear word in the captain of the Leopards' ear, 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 to chase Chancel Mbemba into the changing room. The videos depicting this scenario immediately went viral on social media. Disparaging comments against Chancel Mbemba flooded the web, particularly on his Instagram account.

Furthermore, FECOFA invites all members of the Leopards' delegation to uphold their cardinal virtues of sportsmanship, fair play, and respect for human values by calling for "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's the adrenaline that made him respond that way. There are no issues. I regret it because we did not give a good image, neither us nor the DRC," he declared.

Morocco and the DRC, just like Tanzania and Zambia, are part of Group F. After two matches, all 4 teams still have a chance to qualify. Morocco is in the lead with 4 points, followed by Zambia and the DRC with 2 points each, while Tanzania is last with 1 point. The final verdict will be known after the matches of the last round scheduled for Wednesday, January 24. The DRC will face Tanzania, at the same time, Morocco will challenge Zambia.

Joseph Bahati