By heading to the Democratic Republic of Congo two weeks ago, to challenge Maniema Unionbefore going to cross swords with the Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa, the Raja aimed to unblock its situation in group B of the Champions Leaguewith the hope of bringing back as many points as possible from a high-risk journey. The Eagles were aiming for their first victory in the group stage, but instead, the club found itself at the center of a scandal which clearly damaged its image. THE RCA held on for an hour of play, before collapsing following a goal from Iqraam Rayners in the 65th minute. The defeat condemned the representative of Morocco to occupy last place in the group, with only one point collected in three matches.
On the stands of the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, around a hundred supporters of the Greens spared no effort to encourage its players, chanting the famous songs of “Curva Sud” and deploying banners to denounce the management method adopted at the Al Oasis complex. Unfortunately, after the final whistle, this small group went off the rails, attacking the players directly, after the defeat against the Mamelodi Sundowns. The captain’s video Anas Zniti exchanging insults with supporters, leaving the stadium, went around the Web on Sunday, just a few hours after the end of the match. Worse, the doorman then attacked his coach, Ricardo Sa Pintowho was trying to calm his player. This scene said a lot about the atmosphere that reigns within the group and in the locker room of the Rajawhere the anarchy is matched only by that which reigns at the level of the Al Oasis complex, with a completely distraught management office, overwhelmed by events.
On the verge of eviction, Sa Pinto denounces locker room insubordination
During the post-match press briefing on Sunday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, the Portuguese Ricardo Sa Pinto admitted that the team’s problem lay in the locker room, like his predecessor Abdelkarim El Jinaniwho had made the same remarks before giving up his place. “I am primarily responsible. I am a coach, so the first person responsible for the situation is me. I have never attempted to pass this responsibility onto other parties and I will not do so now! Afterwards, there are other things in the locker room, in our family, that we need to talk about and that we need to resolve. However, I remind you that I am primarily responsible, it is not to escape my responsibilities that I say this. We are all sad, we all had big plans for this competition, dreams. There is always hope, possibilities. It will be very difficult, but it is always possible,” Sa Pinto said on Sunday.
In Casablanca, the leading office of Adil Halla met on Sunday evening to discuss the ousting of the Portuguese. A second meeting with club members is also planned for Friday. For the umpteenth time in over a decade, the office of Raja is preparing to blow a new fuse, to avoid triggering a total overhaul and cutting the evil at the root. This same solution resulted in the appointment of Ricardo Sa Pinto two months ago (in place of Rusmir Cviko), this man who is now presented as the only evil gnawing at the team. Once again, the leaders of Raja will therefore opt for patching up, this path which led the team to chaos.
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