Shame On Morocco, Hakimi

By Frank Ofili

In a continent that believes in the potency of juju – even in sports – it is not difficult to understand why Achraf Hakimi, Moroccan right back, removed and threw away the Senegal goalkeeper’s towel during the final match between the Teranga Lions of Senegal and the Atlas Lions of Morocco in the just concluded 2025 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, tournament.

Days earlier, this same scenario played out in the dramatic semi-final match between Morocco and Nigeria. A stadium official removed goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali’s towel.

No one can say with certainty if Hakimi actually believed there was some juju in the towel or whether his action was aimed at causing the Senegal goalkeeper discomfort, make him lose mental focus and disrupt him psychologically. Whatever it was, the underlying intention is to gain an upper hand through hook, crook or both. And it is not new.

In the 1994 AFCON semi-final match between Nigeria and Ivory Coast in Tunisia, then NFA head of technical committee, the late Kashimawo Laloko, noticed an unusual object placed behind the Ivory Coast goalkeeper’s post. Laloko walked over and removed it before play resumed at the end of half time — implying it was some sort of “juju” or luck charm that might influence the game. Nigeria won that game on penalty to progress to the final, which she also won and picked the AFCON trophy. Days later Laloko defended his action in media interviews.

This kind of tale plays into the traditional belief in parts of African football culture that spiritual charms or juju items are sometimes placed to influence luck or outcomes — and the idea that a Nigerian, cognizant of such beliefs, would remove it added to the mythos of the Super Eagles’ resilience and triumph in the Tunisia 1994 AFCON.

But it is a shame, really, that at a time the rest of world is thinking app and AI, Africa is still locked in superstition. More shameful that a Morocco that had managed to put up world-class sports facilities would reduce herself to the mundane. Most shameful that Achraf Hakimi himself – current African Footballer of year – with all his exposure and achievements in the world of football, would lend himself to this shameful act.

I think it should be taken as an act of aggression for a player to go to the goal post of an opposing team to physically remove the towel with which their goalkeeper wipes sweat. Doing so should attract red card, because it is tantamount to an attempt to remove the goalkeeper’s tools of his craft – hand glove, jersey, or boot.