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Morocco's head coach Jorge Vilda expressed deep frustration after his team’s 3–2 defeat to Nigeria in the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations final, pointing to controversial refereeing decisions that he believes cost the Atlas Lionesses the title.
Despite a dream start and a 2–0 lead within the first 25 minutes, Morocco saw their advantage slip away in the second half, with Nigeria mounting a comeback capped by Jennifer Echegini’s late winner. Two decisive VAR interventions proved pivotal: one awarded a penalty to Nigeria for a Nouhaila Benzina handball, while a Moroccan penalty, initially given for a Demehin handball, was later overturned.
«We can't understand the decision made by the referee», Vilda told ESPN. «She gave a penalty, but then the images we saw were not the same as those presented to the referee».
«The images were clear, we were sure, she had to give a penalty», he argued, adding «the referee had blown for it, but then [went] to VAR».
«We saw there was a hand, but the referee took it off us. That's what determined that we weren't able to celebrate this match», the coach regretted.
«The fact it wasn't given as a penalty had an immediate impact on the players», Vilda acknowledged. «It had a psychological impact that shocked us, it was a massive hit to the players».
Vilda, who praised his team’s overall performance, said Morocco were «better than Nigeria» for most of the game and lamented what he called a «painful» end to an otherwise exceptional tournament.
Ibtissam Jraïdi, a player of the women’s team, echoed his frustration, sharing replays of the denied penalty on her social media accounts.
The loss, in front of a home crowd at Rabat’s Olympic Stadium, left Morocco just short of claiming their first-ever WAFCON title. Nigeria, meanwhile, secured its 10th continental crown.
