Sports News of Monday, 19 December 2022

Source: goal.com

Hakimi apologizes to FIFA president after outburst

Morocco star Achraf Hakimi apologised to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after a confrontation following his side's defeat to Croatia.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The PSG defender had reportedly approached the FIFA president following Morocco's 2-1 defeat to Croatia in the third place play-off at the World Cup. Hakimi was said to have voiced some strongly-worded opinions on the officiating throughout the tournament.

WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to the press, he now has said: "Nothing happened. I was angry after the end of the match. I went to talk to him, and I apologized for the words I said to him. He is my friend and I respect him a lot, so nothing happened".

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Most notably, Hakimi may have been frustrated after feeling as though his side should have won a penalty in the semi-final against France when Sofyan Boufal was challenged by Ibrahima Konate. The Atlas Lions were also hoping for a spot-kick against Croatia amid a possible handball when Youssef En-Nesyri's header hit Bruno Petkovic.