Guinea Coup: Moroccan football team safely departs

Morocco national football team made it safely home on Monday after being caught up in an attempted coup in Guinea, where they were supposed to play a World Cup qualifier match.

The game has been postponed after a Guinean army colonel seized control of state television and said the government had been dissolved on Sunday. The West African nation was due to host Morocco in the capital of Conakry on Monday.

No new date has been set for the fixture. The Confederation of African Football said the postponement was “to ensure the safety and security of all players and to protect all match officials.”

There were hours of heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in Conakry on Sunday in developments that bore all the hallmarks of a coup d’etat.

Morocco head coach Vahid Halilhodzic said that they could clearly hear gunshots from the hotel where the team was staying.

Suzan O /AFP