Manchester United manager Sofyan Amrabat was sent off twice in the final moments of Morocco’s surprise exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
The midfielder received a second yellow for tripping Teboho Mokoena as the Atlas Lions desperately sought an equalizer in injury time of their round of 16 match against South Africa, where they were 1 down -0. Confusion reigned when referee Mahmood Ismail was called onto the video screen to review the incident, leaving Amrabat and Morocco in apparent hope that the yellow card would be overturned. Amrabat was already heading towards the tunnel when the referee called him back to overturn the warning and turn it into a straight red card for canceling a scoring chance.
Morocco were frustrated by a delay that produced essentially the same result, in a scenario that would never have saved Amrabat since yellow cards currently remain outside the scope of VAR. Their dismay was compounded when Mokoena beat Bono from the ensuing free-kick, sealing South Africa’s remarkable 2-0 victory and a stunning exit for Africa’s top-ranked nation, who missed a chance to equalize when Achraf Hakimi’s 85th-minute penalty hit the crossbar.
The Atlas Lions will have to pull themselves together after Tuesday evening’s crushing defeat. Their fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Qatar, where they became the first African team to reach a semi-final, will seem a long way away after they became the latest big name to withdraw from the AFCON.
