Morocco will be barred from the next two Africa Cup of Nations as punishment for refusing to host the 2015 edition in January-February, Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou said on Saturday.
“We are going to stick to the rules, that means elimination from the next two Nations Cups,” Hayatou told France’s L’Equipe sports daily.
“On top of that there will be the financial and moral damages to calculate.”
Morocco are facing a US$20 million (Dh73.4m) fine for refusing to host the 2015 Cup in its scheduled January 17-February 8 slot over fears of the spread of the deadly Ebola epidemic to the popular tourist destination, Morocco’s Le Matin newspaper suggested this week.
The north African state had called for the Cup to be postponed, but organisers CAF rejected their request, stripping them of their position as hosts and barring them from playing in the continental showcase.
Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, which co-hosted the 2012 edition with Gabon, were named as Morocco’s replacement as hosts for the troubled 2015 tournament on Friday.
Aside from the former Spanish colony in west Africa who now qualify automatically, three countries are assured of their place in the troubled 2015 Cup - Tunisia, Algeria and Cape Verde Islands.
There are 12 qualifiers scheduled for Saturday with defending champions Nigeria needing a victory in Congo Brazzaville to have a realistic chance of qualifying.
Meanwhile, South Africa qualified for the African Cup of Nations on saturday with a 2-1 win over Sudan in the team’s first game since the killing of captain Senzo Meyiwa.
South African players wore black armbands and there was a minute’s silence before the Sudan game for goalkeeper Meyiwa, who was fatally shot in an apparent house robbery in a township near Johannesburg last month.
The Sudanese team even held up a picture of the popular Meyiwa before kick off at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in their own tribute.
The home side then sealed their place in Equatorial Guinea early next year with goals by Thulani Serero and Tokelo Rantie either side of half-time. Salah Ibrahim pulled a late goal back for Sudan in front of about 30,000 fans in Durban. The game was moved to the east coast city, Meyiwa’s hometown, in honour of the late goalkeeper.
Meyiwa had led South Africa through four games unbeaten in African Cup of Nations qualifying and had not conceded a goal in the competition before his death.
On Saturday, smiling South African players pulled off their team jerseys to reveal white T-shirts with messages of remembrance for Meyiwa as they celebrated their qualification.
“Well, I just wish he was here with us,” South Africa goalkeeper Darren Keet, who replaced Meyiwa in the line-up, said. “That’s what makes it the most emotional. He’s not here with us and everything is done. His memory will stay with us.”
Cameroon and Zambia also secured their places in the finals, bringing the number of qualified teams to six alongside new tournament host Equatorial Guinea.
Ghana lost 1-0 in Uganda and Mali fell 2-0 in Malawi to keep them waiting until the final round of qualifying games next week.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
THE SPECS
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
