Democratic Republic of Congo head coach Sebastien Desabre has blamed the elements as the reason behind a heated physical altercation between DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba and Morocco head coach Walid Regragui.
After an intense game between the two at the 2023 AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire that ended in a 1-1 draw, Regragui and Mbemba were engaged in a heated discussion that caught the attention of members of both teams who got involved in the fracas.
According to Foot Mercato, Regragui confronted Mbemba after the game for not making eye contact with him when Regragui shook hands with him.
However, Desabre saw it differently by pointing to the hot and humid weather the team played in at the Stade de San Pedro with the temperature clocking 32 degrees Celsius.
“It’s the heat. It’s a big match between two big nations. It’s very hot. Very, very hot” Desabre said according to The West Australian.
The result leaves Morocco and DR Congo occupy the first and second respectively in Group F ahead of the final round of games.
Morocco play Zambia while DR Congo play Tanzania on Wednesday, January 24 at 20:00 GMT.
Scuffles broke out after full time in the Morocco vs DR Congo game after Walid Regragui coach of Morocco went to confront Mbemba in relation to the DR Congo penalty during the game which was later lost by DRC#AFCON2023 #MARRDC pic.twitter.com/MTzcqwHhAn
— Rizzy ✨OVERWORLD 🌙$XC (@rizzy_guy) January 21, 2024