The Bosnian coach of the Moroccan national football team, Vahid Halilhodzic, said that the reason for excluding Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech from the team's list for the upcoming African Nations Cup in Cameroon is due to his lack of commitment to the rules set in the team.
Halilhodzic added, in statements to the Moroccan "Le 360 Sport" website, that he had set special rules regarding discipline, and that he had formed strong and cohesive bonds between the players, and that whoever violated this would be excluded.
Speaking about the joining of Barcelona's Abdel-Samad El-Zalzouli, the Spanish striker, Halilhodzic said that the Royal Moroccan Federation (Football Federation) made every effort to include the player in the ranks of the "Atlas Lions".
He added that he had contacted Zalzouli some time ago, and the latter explained to him his desire to play for the Moroccan national team.
The Bosnian coach said that the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, Faouzi Lekjaa, will communicate with the Barcelona administration in order to allow the player to participate in the African Nations Cup, and in the event that this does not happen, the matter will be sad, according to Halilhodzic.
Halilhodzic had announced a list of 26 players for the African Nations Cup, and the list saw the exclusion of Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech.
He pointed out that the list that was called up today, Thursday, will start preparing for the tournament through the next camp. The team will go to Cameroon for the tournament.
The African Nations Cup kicks off in Cameroon on January 9 and will continue until February 6.