Morocco eased past Zambia 1-0 at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday to finish top in Group F but the result was overshadowed by the suspension of their manager Walid Regragui.
Hakim Ziyech left the pitch with an ankle injury at half time but not before a smart close-range finish in the 38th minute that secured victory for Morocco and also kept hosts Ivory Coast in the tournament.
However, Morocco's win was marred by a four-game ban – with two suspended – that was handed out on Wednesday over heated scenes at the match against Congo on Sunday.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) also imposed fines of $20,000 each on the federations of Morocco and Congo, plus $5,000 on Regragui.
Regragui, who led his country to the World Cup semi-finals in 2022, was involved in an on-field spat with Congo captain Chancel Mbemba at the end of their match in San Pedro.
The incident led to scuffles between opposing players as well as staff on the pitch and alleged fighting in the tunnel at the stadium, but out of public view.
CAF's statement also said it fined the Moroccan federation an additional $10,000 “for the use of smoke bombs by its supporters during the match,” with half the amount suspended.
The Moroccan federation said it will appeal CAF’s “unjust decision” to ban Regragui because the coach "did not commit any behavior that violates the spirit of sportsmanship.”
Regragui had gone to shake Mbemba’s hand at the end of the match but held onto it as he tried to remonstrate with the defender, who repeatedly tried to pull away before breaking loose.
That set off general mayhem at the end of a 1-1 draw.
“He insulted me and my assistant on the sidelines before the end of the match,” Regragui claimed when talking to reporters after Sunday’s match.
“And in the end, despite that, I went to shake his hand but also to ask him: ‘Why are you talking to me like that?’ Then he looked away like he didn’t want to shake my hand. I held his hand, you can see that in the images, and he started screaming in every direction.
"He claimed I had called him an idiot but I never said that. He should be a little honest with himself.”
Regragui watched from the stands as Morocco beat Zambia on Wednesday. The Atlas Lions will stay in San-Pedro for a last-16 clash with South Africa next Tuesday, without Regragui.
Morocco's result was celebrated across the host nation as it allowed Ivory Coast to squeeze into the next round as one of the four best third-placed teams.
The Elephants had been staring at the prospect of a group-stage exit after a stunning 4-0 defeat by Equatorial Guinea on Monday.
They were the first Afcon host in 40 years to lose two group games, but a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in their opening match ultimately proved sufficient.
However, they now face a daunting tie against reigning champions Senegal in capital city Yamoussoukro next Monday, and they will have to manage with a new coach.
Veteran French boss Jean-Louis Gasset was dismissed by the Ivorian Football Federation on Wednesday, with assistant Emerse Fae stepping up to replace him.
Meanwhile, Congo set up a last-16 clash with seven-time winners Egypt after playing out a 0-0 draw with Tanzania in their final Afcon Group F fixture.
The Congolese finish second in the pool with three points following a trio of draws and advance along with group winners Morocco.
Mali, South Africa and Namibia all advanced to the last 16 when they took part in the tournament’s first goalless games.
Mali’s 0-0 draw with Namibia was enough to top Group E, while South Africa clinched second place on goal difference from Namibia by drawing 0-0 with Tunisia.
Mali finished with five points, one more than South Africa and Namibia, while Tunisia were eliminated after finishing bottom of the group.
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
