Another dispute shakes the Moroccan football federation.
The tense situation within the technical department of the FRMF seems to have no ending. After clashes with presidents of regional leagues and critical opinions on his choice of coaches, Osian Roberts and his staff are still faced with uphill battles.
New reports coming out of Morocco reveals that legendary coach and goalkeeper, Zaki Badou, clashed with Simon Jennings, the new Elite Coach Educator personally headhunted by Roberts.
On a meeting held with the technical department last week, Zaki was reportedly asked by Jennings to introduce himself to the rest of the team, which provoked a heated debate between the two. It got to the point where new financial director, Jalal Ainouch had to intervene and separate the parties to prevent the fight from escalating. Zaki is said to have been angered by the manner of Jennings and told Jennings: “If you come to Morocco not knowing who I am, you don’t deserve to supervise the training of a country where you seem to have no clue about its players or executives.”
Zaki was integrated to the technical department on the recommendation of president Fouzi Lekjaa alongside Rachid Taoussi and Fathi Jamal, and after first being admitted to an ambassadorial role, he was recently handed more of a significant role inside the federation. The 61-year-old left his job as head coach of Difaâ El Jadida in favor of the FRMF and it was always expected that he would be more involved than initially declared.