The Story Of The Moroccan National Team Stuck In The Middle Of The Guinea Coup, Sofyan Amrabat: It's Scary To Hear Gunshots

The Moroccan national team is trapped in a hotel in the middle of a Guinean coup (Photo: Italian Football)

JAKARTA - Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat told a story about the Moroccan squad caught in an armed coup in Guinea.

The Moroccan and Guinean squads are in the capital Conakry for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers on Monday. But the match never took place because on Sunday there was an armed coup to overthrow the government.

The Morocco squad finally managed to leave that evening, while Guinea had to wait until Tuesday to finally be able to fly out of the troubled West African nation.

"You don't expect to go on international duty and end up in the middle of a military coup," Fiorentina midfielder Amrabat told De Telegraaf.

“On Sunday morning, Adel Taarabt asked if I heard gunshots. I laughed at first and said it must be fireworks, because sometimes the local fans do it outside the visiting team's hotel to disturb their rest.

“But then we saw on the Internet what really happened. My family was very worried and everyone wrote letters to ask if we were okay. We have to stay professional, but it's scary when you hear gunfire, then silence, then more gunfire."

The Morocco squad finally managed to get an escort from the hotel to the airport, a journey that took 45 minutes.

“We arrived at the airport and our plane was there on the runway, but the military had locked it down and urged everyone to come back and go home.

“Only with the intervention of the King of Morocco, who contacted the new leaders of Guinea, did they allow us to board the plane under military supervision.

"It's very strange to see a military vehicle on the side of the team bus."