Morocco FA denies wooing Barcelona's Lamine Yamal with financial bait

Morocco’s Royal Federation of Football (FRMF) has vehemently denied recent allegations that they exerted “financial pressure” on FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal to entice him into joining the Moroccan national football team. 

This dismissal was released in a formal statement on Tuesday in response to a controversial article published earlier the same day by Spanish sports news outlet, AS.

AS's contentious article claims that Morocco has been attempting to exert “financial pressures” on Lamine Yamal, who holds dual Spanish-Moroccan nationality. 

The report suggests that the injury Yamal recently suffered, which prevents him from participating in the UEFA Euro qualifiers with the Spanish team, provided Morocco with an opportunity to persuade the player to instead represent the Atlas Lions.

According to AS, “The pressure from Morocco on the player has not stopped, and the North African Federation even presented him with a financial offer, which the footballer declined, in order to persuade him to play under Regragui, before the Spanish youth teams’ coordinator visited him in Barcelona.”

However, the FRMF is staunchly refuting these allegations, emphasizing that the article by AS is not only baseless but lacks substantial evidence to validate its claims. 

In its statement, the federation categorically denies the content of the AS article, underlining that it has always respected the decisions of players of Moroccan origin who opt to represent other countries in their football careers.

The FRMF statement reads: "The association respects the choices of the players, engaging with emerging players through legal and legitimate means."

Morocco is keen on highlighting its commitment to approaching and involving players globally in an “ethical and legal manner,” thereby emphasizing the voluntary nature of players’ participation in the Moroccan national team.

The federation’s message also illuminated the consistent efforts made by the technical administrators of Morocco’s national teams across all age categories. These officials are depicted as devoted to presenting young, promising players with comprehensive overviews of the upcoming plans, goals, initiatives, and aspirations harbored by the national teams for their future development and success.

Lamine Yamal, the player at the center of this unfolding drama, has been sidelined due to an injury that has ruled him out of crucial UEFA Euro qualifiers with Spain.

 This unfortunate situation for the Spanish team has reportedly led to increased worries and speculation within the Spanish football federation, as depicted in the AS report.