- CAF has banned the coach for eight matches
- Tanzania has suspended him till further notice
- Juma Mgunda and Hemed Morocco will take charge of the team
Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has suspended head coach Adel Amrouche indefinitely after he was slapped with an eight-match suspension by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
CAF informed TFF of the decision by its disciplinary committee to fire the Belgian-Algerian, following comments he made before they played against Morocco in their first match at the tournament.
Amrouche had alluded that Morocco are always favored in games, especially by match officials, and that their Federation has huge control over CAF.
Instantly, the Tanzania Federation through president Wallace Karia distanced themselves from the sentiments of the coach.
Karia was categorical that the comments were from the coach on his own individual capacity and did not reflect Tanzania as a whole. With this statement, Amrouche was now on his own, if any charges were pressed against him.
The comments angered the African football governing body and Morocco, who presented a case at CAF’s disciplinary committee.
The Committee deliberated on the issue and suspended the coach for eight games, meaning he cannot be on the bench for the remainder of Tanzania’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) journey even if they make it all the way to the final.
Tanzania Federation names interim coach
Tanzania’s interim coaches Hemed Morocco and Juma Mgunda. PHOTO/TFF
“In another move, the TFF executive committee has made a decision to stand down the coach from his role,” a statement from TFF reads.
And now, the Committee has made a decision to hand the team over to Hemed Morocco and Juma Mgunda for the remainder of their run at the Cup of Nations, with two group stage matches remaining.
Tanzania were beaten 3-0 by Morocco in their opening game and will take on Zambia in their second match of Group F on Monday.
This is not the first time that the coach is in trouble for his ill temper. When he was coach of the Kenya national team, he was suspended for one year by CAF for spitting at a match official.
The allegation was made after Kenya’s World Cup qualifier away to Comoros, where Amrouche had an altercation with match officials and was given a red card, which would have kept him on the stands for the next international window.
But, in the referees’ report that was presented to CAF, Amrouche was accused of spitting at the centre referee after he protested a decision made against Harambee Stars.
Amrouche’s troubles from the past
Tanzania’s interim coach Hemed Morocco speaks to captain Mwana Samatta and veteran Himid Mao. PHOTO/TFF
After the case was presented in Cairo, Amrouche was found guilty of spitting, an act that attracts a 12-month ban as per CAF statutes.
The suspension by CAF meant that Kenya would be without a coach for a year, and the then Federation made a decision to fire him.
The coach however went to FIFA alleging unfair termination of his contract and Kenya was made to pay over 100 million in compensation for the coach.
Before his Comoros fiasco, the coach had served another suspension, having been given a red card in a match against Nigeria in Calabar, where again, he remonstrated with match officials attracting a sanction.
Amrouche, who has previously worked with Burundi and Botswana, was appointed as Tanzania head coach in March 2023, and successfully led Tanzania to securing a place at the 2023 AFCON after earning a point on the last match day away to Algeria, pipping off neighbors Uganda.
This was his first ever appearance at the AFCON as head coach, and he had hoped to guide the Taifa Stars to the round of 16, having beamed confidence that he would earn at least four points from the last two matches against Zambia and DR Congo.
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