The Atlas Lions face Nigeria in Rabat on Wednesday with a place in the final at stake, but the build-up has been dominated by debate over refereeing decisions following Morocco’s 2-0 quarter-final victory over Cameroon last Friday.
Cameroon were left frustrated by several calls during that match, with Mauritanian referee Dahane Beida accused of overlooking two penalty incidents involving Morocco defender Adam Masina.
In the first incident, Masina appeared to clip Bryan Mbeumo’s right boot after missing the ball as Cameroon searched for an equaliser.
Later in the game, he was also alleged to have struck Etta Eyong with an elbow inside the penalty area.
Beida, who officiated the final at the previous edition of the tournament, also chose not to issue a second yellow card to Bilal El Khannouss for halting Danny Namaso during a counterattack, shortly before Ismael Saibari scored Morocco’s second goal.
Similar claims have followed Morocco since earlier matches against Mali and Tanzania, but Regragui believes the criticism reflects his team’s growing stature rather than any genuine advantage.
“We’re the team to beat. As the team to beat, people will try to find all sorts of reasons to say Morocco has an advantage,” Regragui said via Al Jazeera.
“The only advantage that Morocco has at this Africa Cup is playing in front of 65,000 spectators. The rest is on the field; we speak on the field.
“Many people want to believe or make others believe that we have advantages from the referees. Personally, I saw penalties that could have been awarded to us. As for the referees, I never talk about the referees.”
Morocco has played all their matches at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, which holds close to 70,000 supporters and is also scheduled to host the final on January 18.
Both semi-finalists arrived unbeaten. Nigeria have won all five of their matches so far in the tournament, while Morocco has recorded four victories and one draw.
Wednesday’s clash will be the sixth meeting between the two sides at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Morocco has won three of the previous encounters, while Nigeria claimed two victories. It is also their first AFCON meeting in 22 years and only the second time they have faced each other at the semi-final stage.
The last semi-final between the two came in 1980, when Nigeria edged Morocco 1–0 thanks to Felix Owolabi’s ninth-minute strike. This result paved the way for the Super Eagles’ first continental title on home soil.
https://www.naijanews.com/2026/01/13/walid-regragui-dismisses-referee-bias-claims-ahead-of-morocco-vs-nigeria-afcon-semi-final/