AFCoN: Egypt vs Morocco referee accused of pushing player during bizarre brawl

There was drama during the second half of the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final clash between Egypt and Morocco on Sunday.

With the scores level at 1-1 in the 77th minute, a brawl ensued between the two sets of players when Egypt forward Mostafa Mohamed fouled Achraf Hakimi.

Hakimi, one of Morocco’s standout players who plies his trade with French giants Paris Saint-Germain, saw his shorts fall down in the process.

The defender then rose to his feet to square up to Mohamed while his shorts were still around his legs.

He quickly pulled them back up but the bizarre drama didn’t end there.

Referee Maguette Ndiaye came steaming in to break up the altercation, only to make matters worse.

Ndiaye pushed Morocco forward Munir El Haddadi, who appeared to be acting as peacemaker before the ref’s intervention.

Ndiaye was then accused of pushing Munir, who went to ground holding his face, possibly because he’d initially been caught in the side of the head by the ref.

"Is he going to yellow card himself?" the co-commentator said of the referee.

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Watch the bizarre footage here:

Let’s check out some of the reaction:

Ndiaye ended up showing yellow cards to both Mohamed and Hakimi, although Munir avoided a booking.

Mohamed and his Egypt teammates had the last laugh, though, as they sealed their place in the AFCoN semi-finals.

Mohamed Salah, who cancelled out Sofiane Boufal’s sixth-minute penalty with a goal early in the second half, produced a fabulous assist for Trezeguet’s extra-time winner.

Egypt face Cameroon for a place in the final on February 3.

Burkina Faso and Senegal compete in the tournament’s other semi-final 24 hours earlier.

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