Nigeria coach Eric Chelle admitted he was deeply shaken by his team’s dramatic AFCON 2025 semi-final defeat to Morocco, while openly praising the Atlas Lions’ superiority.
He highlighted Walid Regragui’s side’s intense pressing and aggression, saying his players struggled to breathe under Morocco’s control before losing on penalties.
Chelle focused on the extraordinary atmosphere inside a packed Moulay Abdellah Stadium, confessing he had “never experienced a game like it” in his coaching career. He explained that he refused to sit in a deep defensive block, fearing a heavy defeat, and insisted that letting Morocco dominate the ball in such conditions would have been “madness” given their level throughout the tournament.
The Malian coach also revisited the controversial final against Senegal, questioning how the rules were applied, especially concerning players leaving the field.
Without directly blaming either side, he repeated the need to “know the rules and apply them” to avoid scenes that overshadow football.
Those incidents prompted CAF to hand out heavy sanctions: Senegal received suspensions and a 700,000-dollar fine, while the Moroccan FA and players Achraf Hakimi and Ismaël Saibari were fined 400,000 dollars.
