Achraf Hakimi reportedly shouted at FIFA President’s face during the 2022 FIFA World Cup third-place contest


Achraf Hakimi reportedly shouted at FIFA President’s face during the 2022 FIFA World Cup third-place contest

Achraf Hakimi and Gianni Infantino

Croatia missed out on consecutive World Cup final appearances after losing to Argentina in the Semi-finals. The giant killers of 2022, Morocco lost to defending champion France in the second semi. It ended the African nation’s historic run. The Atlas Lions then faced Croatia for third place on 17th December. The match ended with the Moroccans facing defeat. An angry Achraf Hakimi lost his cool and vented at the referee after the final whistle. He later allegedly shouted at FIFA President Gianni Infantino as well.

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Morocco was facing a heart-breaking loss, and the players were devastated after the officials denied them two penalties in the final minute. The first penalty shout came when Youssef Nesyri’s header hit Bruno Petkovic on the hand. The second was for a challenge by the Croatian striker that brought down Achraf Hakimi. Quite a similar instance occurred when Morocco faced  France then Sofyan Boufal was stopped by Ibrahima Konate.

Achraf Hakimi was left heartbroken and showed anger on the pitch after suffering many fouls himself. Later, Hakimi allegedly approached the FIFA President in the tunnel to voice his inner frustrations. Multiple witnesses claimed the football’s apex organization is working to block the footage from becoming public.

SVT Sports Reporter Kucukaslan explained, “They wanted us to delete the images. It is clear that these are embarrassing scenes for them, and it is a bit naive of them to think that a dozen journalists should not report on this when we witness it happening.” TV presenter Tom Egbers added via NOS. “He stood in front of Infantino, less than five centimeters. With a raised voice, he ranted to Infantino about the referee. It was painful.”

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Learn MORE: Where is the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final between Argentina and France taking place?

Croatia brought heartbreak for Achraf Hakimi and Morocco in the Bronze medal match

Croatia will battle Morocco for third place in the World Cup
Croatia v Morocco for third place in the World Cup

The Croatians jumped over Morocco 2-1 to claim third place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A sublime header in the 7th minute from Josko Gvardiol made the 20-year-old Croatia’s youngest-ever goal scorer in the check shirt. Two minutes after the store opened, Achraf Dari equalized with his header, and Saturday’s game looked like it might be a goal hunt that was missing for ages.

Massive action at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium got settled after 10 minutes, as both teams attempted to complete their World Cup journey on a high. Croatia, the 2018 runners-up, started to dominate possession, with Morocco happy to sit deep, contain and leave the rest on the shoulders of the poachers.

The winning goal came in the 42nd minute, when Mislav Orsic scored over Morocco keeper Yassine Bounou with power and precision, clipping the inside of the far post to rebound into the opposite side netting. Absolute poetry of a shot meant that the Qatar 2022 World Cup was the 11th time in a row that a European team finished third.

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