Morocco's assistant coach Mustapha Hadji opened fire on the team's coach Herve Renard, blaming him for being behind the Atlas Lions' recent elimination from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. "As a technical staff we provided many suggestions concerning the team's formation during the tournament, but Renard had the final decision," the former Moroccan national team star Hadji told a local Moroccan radio station on Tuesday. "We had to rest some players and rotate the squad, as playing the three group stage matches with the same players was a big mistake," he added. Morocco, who won the African cup once in 1976, were eliminated from the African tournament after losing to Benin in the round of 16 by penalty shootouts. The team reached the knockout stage after three successive wins in the group stage over Namibia, Cote d'Ivoire, and South Africa. Renard's future is still in doubt after local media reports stated that the French coach resigned from coaching the Atlas Lions, before these rumors were dismissed by both the coach and the football association. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
