un ballon de football dans les filets

CAN 2025 (q): Algeria and Morocco angry after words from the interim coach of Tunisia

Monday evening, after the defeat of Tunisia against the Gambia (1-0) during the qualifications for the African Cup of Nations (CAN), Kaïs Yaâkoubi, temporary coach of the Tunisian national team, made remarks that caused strong reactions in Algeria and Morocco.

During the post-match press conference Kaïs Yaâkoubi pointed out the Algerian and Moroccan selections, accusing them of using means which he describes as “extra-sport” to convince binational players to join their ranks.

“” Why is the national selection no longer efficient? Do you have to ask the right questions (â € ¦) Do you think Algeria and Morocco bring binational players, like Gouiri and Cherki (he has never been in Algerian selection, editor’s note) for free? No, absolutely no“, He said in particular

He also mentioned the case of certain stars, quoting Amine Gouiri and Rayan Cherki, while questioning the sincerity of their commitment with their national team.

Acerbic reactions in Morocco and Algeria

In Morocco, Yaâkoubi’s words aroused shields. The media 360 described these declarations of “controversial”, denouncing the accusations brought against the Moroccan Federation. For his part, Al Mountakhab published an article with a harsh tone, refuting the words of the Tunisian coach and claiming that the choices of Moroccan binational players are motivated by their emotional link and their membership in the national sports project.

In Algeria, the words of the Tunisian technician were not better received. The TSA media spoke of a “serious slippage”, interpreting these declarations as a direct attack on the integrity of Algerian binational players. The Fennec Gazette has also criticized these allegations, calling them “baseless rumors”, and attributed them to an attempt to justify the current difficulties of the Tunisian selection.

The words of Kaïs Yaâkoubi, which directly aim for the recruitment policies of binational players in Algeria and Morocco, caused a lively indignation on both sides of the border. They risk continuing to feed the debates in the coming days.