By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – Already thrown out of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations for refusing to host the event because of fears over the threat of the Ebola virus, Morocco face an even heavier punishment by being expelled from the subsequent tournament as well.
The north Africa nation was stripped of hosting rights last week after calling for the event to be delayed or postponed.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) refused to change the dates of the competition and after much deliberation selected oil-rich Equatorial Guinea as substitute replacement.
CAF president Issa Hayaou has made it clear Morocco will now be barred from the next two tournaments, a huge blow for one of Africa’s major players.
“We are going to stick to the rules, that means elimination from the next two Nations Cups,” Hayatou told France’s L’Equipe sports daily. “On top of that there will be the financial and moral damages to calculate.”
Morocco are also facing a $20 million fine for pulling out as hosts of the January 17-February 8 tournament according to local reports.
So far, more than 5,000 people have died due to Ebola in west Africa and Morocco were concerned that they could be at risk if players and supporters from that region travelled to the country even though the three nations worst affected are all but eliminated.
South Aftica qualify
South Africa became the latest country to qualify for the finals as their players wore black armbands in the first game since the fatal shooting of captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa during an armed robbery.
There was a minute’s silence before the 2-1 win over Sudan while four-time champions Cameroon, Zambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Gabon also secured their places alongside new tournament host Equatorial Guinea. Ghana lost 1-0 in Uganda and Mali fell 2-0 in Malawi to keep them on tenterhooks until the forthcoming final round of qualifying games.
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