Article written by Jihane Rahhou.
Rabat – The African Football Confederation (CAF) issued on Monday a five-year suspension to Morocco’s former football player Mustapha Hadji, over allegations that he had forged a coaching certificate.
The African Ballon d’Or 1998 winner received his sentence from the disciplinary jury of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that ruled that the footballer cannot engage in football for the exact period of 60 months.
In a press release, CAF announced that Hadji will be suspended from any football-related activities for a period of five years.
Hadji, who retired from playing football with Morocco’s national football team in 2010, filled the position of assistant coach with the Moroccan national team for over seven years, working with former coaches Ezzaki Badou, and his successor Herve Renard, and Vahid Halilhodzic.
The international footballer is especially famous for his spectacular overhead kick against Egypt in the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations, Hadji holds a remarkable career with Morocco’s Atlas Lions. He was playing with the team when they qualified for the 1994 and 1998 World Cup.
In addition to playing with the national football team, he played for different international football clubs, including Sporting CP, Deportivo, Coventry City, Espanyol, and Emirates Club.
Hadji played for 20 years before starting a professional career in coaching, starting as an assistant coach.
He first started as an assistant coach with the Qatari football team Umm Salal (2012- 2013) and later returned to Morocco in 2014 to work with Badou.
Source: Culled from Morocco World News (MWN)
