Achraf Hakimi, the captain of Morocco, has officially apologized for the towel episodes that caused a lot of controversy at the end of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025.
The events, which got a lot of attention, involved Moroccan players, officials, and ball boys routinely grabbing towels from the goalkeepers of the other team during important games. Among those affected were Nigeria’s Stanley Nwabali of the Nigeria national football team and Senegal’s Édouard Mendy.
In both the semifinal and final, there were many attempts by Moroccan staff, including Hakimi himself, to take away towels that were supposed to help goalkeepers preserve their grip in wet conditions. The activities caused confusion and criticism, with many seeing them as intentional attempts to get an edge in bad conditions.
During the final, which was played in mild rain, footage showed Moroccan players and stadium workers stealing towels that were meant for Mendy, which could have affected his performance. In the semifinal match against Nigeria, Nwabali had the same problems, which followed the same pattern.
After Paris Saint-Germain beat Liverpool FC 2–0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, Hakimi talked about the controversy in an interview with Movistar.
Hakimi stated, “These are hard times, and the game was very tense on the field.”
“I don’t like how we looked with the towels. The squad did well in the competition, nevertheless.
We were kind to the other teams in the event.
Morocco made it to the final even though there was a lot of controversy. They beat Nigeria 4–2 on penalties in the semifinals. Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi both missed important penalty kicks for the Super Eagles, which meant they were out.
The towel episodes are still being spoken about after the tournament, and they bring up doubts about how fair and sportsmanlike the highest level of African football is.
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