Morocco boss Walid Regragui involved in heated exchange with DR Congo's Chancel Mbemba... sparking full-time fracas after ill-tempered draw at AFCON
- Players and staff from Morocco and DR Congo were involved in a mass fracas
- An exchange between Walid Regragui and Chancel Mbemba sparked chaos
- Scattergun, reckless and playing Football Manager: Nottingham Forest only have themselves to blame... their approach could finally cost them! It's All Kicking Off
Dozens of players and staff from Morocco and DR Congo broke into a fracas after their Africa Cup of Nations game.
The mass melee was sparked by a heated exchange between Morocco boss Walid Regragui and DR Congo defender Chancel Mbemba.
Footage shows members of both camps fronting up to and pushing each other in the wake of their 1-1 draw and the initial exchange between Regragui and Mbemba.
Players and staff are then filmed running down the tunnel, with the videographer claiming more police had been called to the stadium.
One journalist who filmed the events claimed that Regragui approached Mbemba while he was praying, leading to their passionate exchange and gesticulations.
![A fracas broke out between players and staff of Morocco and DR Congo after their AFCON game](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/21/19/80281667-12989339-A_fracas_broke_out_between_players_and_staff_of_Morocco_and_DR_C-a-33_1705865889532.jpg)
A fracas broke out between players and staff of Morocco and DR Congo after their AFCON game
The tunnel proved to be no sanctuary, as players continued to scuffle even while running into the bowels of the stadium.
A well-followed account on X, which purports to be the official page for the Africa Cup of Nations, claims Regragui was investigated by the Confederation of African Football for racially insulting Mbemba.
The account claims that a lip-reading analysis concluded Regragui had said: 'Look at me while you shake my hand.'
MailOnline cannot confirm if this account is official.
The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has made no reference to an investigation.
After the game, Mbemba, a former Newcastle defender, received racist and hateful comments and emojis on one of his Instagram posts.
He told the media: 'I respect the coach who is a great man. The TV cut the videos, but I have them. I don't need to swing them. I keep my silence, it's better, that's how I am. Everyone knows me, I respect everyone, I don't need to shoot anyone but God's justice is there.'
Regragui told L'Equipe: 'I said to Desabre [Dr Congo's coach]: 'Bring him back to me, he's going crazy, he's talking nonsense. I didn't like it because it insinuates a lot of things.
'So if he has images other than what we see on television, let him take them out, with pleasure. And he'll see exactly what happened. And that's what happened... Before I went to shake his hand, he took me and my assistant to task on the sidelines before the end of the game, he spoke badly to us. And Desabre knows it.
![Morocco manager Walid Regragui was involved in a heated exchange with Chancel Mbemba which sparked the trouble](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/21/19/80281909-12989339-image-a-31_1705865792799.jpg)
Morocco manager Walid Regragui was involved in a heated exchange with Chancel Mbemba which sparked the trouble
![Mbemba, right, also received racist and insulting comments on his Instagram page after the game](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/21/19/80281919-12989339-image-a-32_1705865848809.jpg)
Mbemba, right, also received racist and insulting comments on his Instagram page after the game
![An account purporting to be an official AFCON page claimed that the Confederation of African football found Regragui had not been racist. They claim he said: 'Look at me while you shake my hand'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/21/19/80281079-12989339-image-a-28_1705865724701.jpg)
An account purporting to be an official AFCON page claimed that the Confederation of African football found Regragui had not been racist. They claim he said: 'Look at me while you shake my hand'
' And at the end, despite that, I'm going to shake his hand and say, "Why are you talking to me like that?" And then he looks away, like "I'm not shaking your hand". I held his hand, you can see it on the pictures, and he started screaming all over the place.
"I said, "You're telling it to yourself!" And he's like, "You called me an idiot!" It's okay that he heard that, even though I never said it, but by speaking the way he did, he's implying that my words are racist, it's dishonest. Since he only talks about religion in his speech, let him be a little honest with himself.'
The result left Morocco top of their group with four points in two games, with DR Congo a place behind them on two points at the final whistle.
Achraf Hakimi had put Morocco ahead inside six minutes but DR Congo got a 76th-minute leveller through Silas.
MailOnline attempted to contact the Confederation of African Football via the email listed on their website, but it did not work.