AFCON coach sacked mid-tournament for controversial comments about rival nation

He was sacked before a game had been played

Amrouche's distasteful comments about the Moroccan Federation came before the two nations were set to play against each other after he claimed that they had more power than other counties and influenced the outcome of games.

He said: "The Morocco federation is a proven power in the world of African football. Morocco manages African football. They also choose their referees and we remain simple spectators.

"For example, during the match between us and Morocco in the World Cup qualifiers in November we asked to play at 2pm, but CAF scheduled the match for the evening."

The Moroccan Federation submitted a complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Tanzania subsequently suspended the 55-year-old before relieving him of duties.

Hemed Morocco has taken over as interim coach in the mean time.

Wallace Karia, president of the Tanzania football federation, spoke out on Amrouche’s comments and was keen to distance the federation from them. Speaking in a video, he said: "We as [the] TFF do not agree with his comments.

"Those are his own personal sentiments as a coach. We are Caf members, and we know Caf follows its own procedures without influence from any country. The TFF and the Moroccan football federation are friends."

Tanzania started their AFCON campaign with a heavy 3-0 defeat to the World Cup semi finalists and return to action on Sunday against Zambia before finishing their group stage games against DR Congo.

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