World Cup

'Why is Hakimi angry?' Fans react after Morocco defender's incident with Infantino

Seth Willis
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Hakimi, Infantino
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Football lovers on the continent have reacted after the PSG defender's incident with the Fifa President after Saturday's loss.

Achraf Hakimi was furious after Morocco's 2-1 loss against Croatia in the World Cup third-place playoff and he reportedly took his frustrations out on Fifa President Gianni Infantino.

The North Africans felt they should have won a penalty when Youssef En-Nesyri's header hit Bruno Petkovic's hand. The Atlas Lions appealed unsuccessfully when Hakimi was brought down by a Croatia player in the danger zone.

The decisions did not go down well with Hakimi who approached the Fifa president after the game in the tunnel to voice his frustrations.

While a section of fans were not happy with Hakimi's actions, others feel it was warranted. After the incident, Hakimi has followed up by apologising to Infantino and called him a 'friend'.

Here are the fan opinions on Hakimi's initial frustration.

Editors' Picks

  1. Hakimi knows the game?
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    Hakimi knows the game?

    What they did to Portugal was done to them, he knows the game -  Brok Joseph 

  2. Croatia denied penalty
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    Croatia denied penalty

    Yea Hakimi was right because Croatia had a clear penalty denied - Ade
  4. Don't blame Infantino
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    Don't blame Infantino

    Complainers, get on with it. Infantino is not to blame for a wrong or right decision. Referees have a committee evaluating performances and how well they align with the laws of the game - Max Dicklim
  5. Referees made funny decisions
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    Referees made funny decisions

    There were indeed very funny reference decisions. Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty against Ghana is one whilst the yellow card shown to a Moroccan player instead of awarding them a penalty against France is a classic example - Ayutube Sini
  7. Why is Hakimi angry?
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    Why is Hakimi angry?

    Truth be told, African teams in the World Cup have been given a rather soft treatment in this edition. The first time all African teams won games in the tournament. Morocco committed a foul on Saturday in the danger zone and the referee overlooked it just for Morocco to cry for a penalty in the opposite box two minutes later. The same Morocco stepped on Kylian Mbappe twice against France till his boots were torn and had to change them. We can still remember when France was denied an equalizer against Tunisia in their last group game. This World Cup might not be perfect but Africans were really carried by the referees. I don't know why Hakimi is angry now - Iddy Cullen

  8. Infantino thinks it is best World Cup, not Hakimi
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    Infantino thinks it is best World Cup, not Hakimi

    Infantino thinks this is the best World Cup ever, I bet Hakimi and most other players disagree - Ignatius Li

  9. Agenda to hand Messi a trophy?
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    Agenda to hand Messi a trophy?

    They all have an agenda to hand the Cup to [Lionel] Messi but ain't gonna work. No one should come and attack me please - Liel Lexis Jaice

  10. All teams blame referees
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    All teams blame referees

    All teams blame the referees for their losses. Just Croatia behaved. I see no auto-critic nor protection for the referees. You can't let these things happen, some sanctions should be necessary - Guillermo Delmas

  12. Morocco should accept and move on
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    Morocco should accept and move on

    The referees are actually having a tough tournament because every losing team feels robbed. Even Qatar must have felt they would be World Cup winners if the refs were fair in officiating. These guys should accept defeat and move on. They still have our admiration despite the loss - Segun Atolagbe

  13. Morocco should be ranked fourth
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    Morocco should be ranked fourth

    We are greatly waiting for the next Fifa world ranking, if they fail to rank Morocco at number four then it requires disbandment. Fifa need to rank teams according to their latest performance and not the players' market prices - Deroni Saitoti