Walid Regragui denies racially abusing Chancel Mbemba | OneFootball

Walid Regragui has dismissed suggestions that he racially abused Chancel Mbemba (29) during Morocco’s 1-1 draw against DR Congo.

The Olympique de Marseille centre-back was involved in an altercation with the Morocco manager after the draw in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) group-stage game. What ignited the altercation remains unclear. However, Mbemba passed through the mixed zone post-match, and whilst he didn’t shed much light on the incident, his comments were interpreted by many, particularly on social media, as suggesting that he had been subjected to racial abuse.

“I don’t need to speak too much, but the most important thing is God’s justice […] I’m not perfect, but when I’m on the pitch, I respect everyone, and respect is reciprocal […] I’ll stay silent. I’m like that; everyone knows Chancel, but I don’t need to draw on anyone. I’m not a super player, but I didn’t think that that word would come out of the manager’s mouth,” said Mbemba.

Questioned on what Regragui had said specifically, the DR Congo international replied, “I don’t know […] he will speak himself.” Regragui found out about Mbemba’s comments later in the evening and told L’Équipe that he spoke to DR Congo manager Sébastien Desabre, telling his counterpart to “bring” him Mbemba, whom he accused of “talking nonsense.”

Regragui added, “I didn’t like that because he insinuated a lot of things […] before I went to shake his hand, he challenged us, me and my assistant, on the touchline before the end of the match. He spoke to us badly. Desabre knows that. Despite that, at the end of the match, I go to shake his hand to also ask him: ‘Why did you speak to us like that?’ and then he looks elsewhere, in an ‘I’m not going to shake your hand’ kind of way.”

“I kept hold of his hand. You could see that in the images and he started shouting. I told him ‘You’re showing off’ and he replied: ‘You’re treating me like an idiot.’ There is no issue if he heard that, even if I never said it, but by speaking as he did, he has insinuated that my comments are racist. It’s dishonest. Since he only spoke about religion in his speech, he ought to be a little more honest with himself,” concluded the Morocco manager.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle