Morocco coach Herve Renard has revealed that he left Schalke 04 midfielder Amine Harit out of the final squad that faced Malawi in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier at home last Saturday due to disciplinary reasons.
The former France youth international was named in the provisional squad for the Malawi match, but was a surprise omission from the final squad that extinguished the Flames 3-0.
Expectations had been high that Harit would be one of the players to carry the team, starting with the current Afcon qualifiers. Regarding the nature of Harit’s offence, Renard revealed the following.
"He was not in the 18-man squad. Normally he should have been, but there was a disciplinary sanction,” Renard was quoted as saying by AfrikFoot.
“When you’re in a group, you have to respect the hours, you have to respect certain things, otherwise you are sanctioned, to set an example for everyone.”
The snub adds to a trying period for Harit who escaped jail term last month, after being found guilty of fatally injuring a 30-year-old man while driving during holiday in Marrakech on June 30.
The accident happened a few days after he had returned from the World Cup in Russia, where he had featured in just one of Morocco's three games.
Harit is capped seven times by Morocco since his debut against Gabon last year in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.
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