By Morocco World News

In September, Hamdallah released a video on his Instagram, promising Moroccan fans to reveal why he left the training camp ahead of the African Cup of Nations.

Head coach of the Moroccan national football team Vahid Halilhodvic said that Moroccan football player Abderrazak Hamdallah refused his invitation to play with the Atlas Lions.

In a press conference on Wednesday, October 9, Halilhodvic said that Hamdallah had refused to join the Moroccan national team’s training camp ahead of the two friendly games against Gabon and Libya.

The coach said that Hamdallah, who plays for Saudi football club Al Nassr, was on the initial list.

“He told me that he does not want to play for the Moroccan team now.”

Halilhodvic added that members of the football team’s technical staff and former football player Mustafa Hajji had also contacted him.

“He is a player with a lot of great potential, but he also has many flaws,” the coach said.

It did not take much for the player to respond to Halilhovidc statements, stating that he had not received an invitation to play with Morocco.

On an Instagram story post, Hamdallah said that he “denies the news that he refused to [play] with the Moroccan national team as I have not received an invitation from the coach nor the Moroccan Football Federation [FRMF].”

In September, the football player promised to release a video to explain why he left the national team.

In June, Hamdallah left the training camp where the Moroccan team was training in preparation for the 2019 African Cup of Nation (CAN).

After his exit, the FRMF released a statement claiming that the football player left due to an injury.

The explanation raised questions among Moroccan football fans.

Several sports news outlets also said that the major cause of his exit was a rift with his teammate Faycal Fajr during a friendly match between Morocco and Gambia in June.

The new head coach said that he has been following Hamdallah during his latest games with Al Nassr.

“I saw his reactions in the latest games with his club, he received several [yellow] cards. This is negative for a football player.”

The coach said that he trusts the lineup he has for these two friendly games, including Amine Harit and Youssef En-nesyri.

Halilhodvic said that what happened with Hamdallah is similar to the case of Kevin Malcuit, a Moroccan-French football player.

Halilhovidc called Malcuit to join the Atlas Lions in the game, but he refused the invitation.

By Morocco World News

Before the statement was released, rumors ran wild that the footballer walked out the camp due to issues he encountered with his teammates.

Rabat – Morocco’s Royal Football Federation (FRMF) has issued a statement commenting on the decision of Abderrazak Hamdallah to leave the training camp where the Moroccan team was training in preparation for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (CAN).

The statement announced that the head coach of the Moroccan national football team, Herve Renard, has replaced Hamdallah with Abdelkarim Baadi.

FRMF claimed that Renard made this decision as Hamdallah cannot participate in the CAN due to “back and hip injuries confirmed by medical tests.”

The federation added that the player will undergo a medical examination tomorrow, June 14.

The statement comes as a surprise to Moroccan football fans and observers as the footballer appeared in good shape during the friendly game against Gambia yesterday, on June 12.

In the wake of the team’s loss to Gambia, speculation spread on social media suggesting that Hamdallah left the camp after issues he faced with some members of the Moroccan squad.

Several Moroccan football fans argue that the move was due to a friction between the footballer and his teammates.

Facebook page Hassad Al Kora quoted close sources close to the Moroccan national team, saying that the footballer was not treated well by the rest of the team.

Several sports news outlets also said that the major cause of his exit was a rift with his teammate Faycal Fajr during Wednesday’s friendly match between Morocco and Gambia on Wednesday.

During the game, Hamdallah was supposed to kick a penalty for the Atlas Lions in the second half. To the surprise of football fans, Fajr took the ball from Hamdallah’s hand and played the penalty instead.

The Atlas Lions will take part in the 2019 CAN, which will kick off on June 21 in Egypt. Renard has already announced his lineup for the competition.

By BBC Sports

Morocco coach Herve Renard has replaced Abderrazak Hamdallah in his 23-man squad for next week's Africa Cup of Nations after the striker picked up an injury.

He is replaced by defender Abdelkarim Baadi, who plays for Moroccan side Hassania Agadir, for the tournament in Egypt.

A statement from the Morocco Football Federation explained that Hamdallah has a "back and hip injury and the medical staff have decided he cannot complete the training camp nor play at the Nations Cup."

The federation added he would undergo further 'rigorous tests' on Friday.

He played in Wednesday evening's surprise 1-0 loss to The Gambia in Marrakech and had left the pitch angry that he had not been allowed to take a last minute penalty that was missed by Faycal Fajr.

Hamdallah was included in Renard's squad after a record-breaking season in Saudi Arabia, that saw him score 34 goals in 30 league games as Al Nassr won the league.

His tally broke the all-time record for goals in a Saudi Arabian season.

It was the first time since Renard took over as coach that he had included Hamdallah in a squad.

By Morocco World News

Moroccan international footballer Abderrazak Hamdallah has won the Golden Shoe Award and the title of the best scorer of the Saudi Football Championship during the 2018-2019 season. The player has made history by topping the charts of Saudi Football as the top goal scorer ever recorded.

The footballer was given the award during a ceremony held on Saturday in Riyadh by the League of Saudi Championship.

The footballer expressed pride over winning the award, emphasizing his determination to continue his achievements in his football career.

Following his astonishing performance, the footballer is now the top scorer of the Saudi football championship with 34 goals.

The footballer tweeted several photos of the ceremony, with captions to express his excitement over the win.

“Thanks God, I won two prestigious prizes; the best scorer in the Saudi league and the best player in the league,” said the footballer.

He also dedicated his tweet to thank his fans and his city, Safi, a port city on Morocco’s Atlantic coast.

Hamdallah’s secured the awards after helping his Saudi football club Al Nassr to win the t Saudi football championship on Thursday, after beating Al Batin 2-1.

Hamdallah scored both goals for his team.

The 28-year-old footballer joined Al-Nassr football club in 2018.

It is remained to be seen whether Head Coach of Morocco’s National Football Team Herve Renard would summon Hamdallah for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (CAN) after a small rift between them.

Renard had summoned Hamdallah to play with Morocco in March.

The BBC said that the footballer could not accept Renard’s invitation for family reasons.

Renard has commented on Hamdallah’s decision, saying that he spoke to him on the phone.

“He declined for reasons you know, I had 33 other players to manage, so I turned the page.”

Hamdallah made his debut with the Atlas Lions in a friendly against Burkina Faso in February 2012.

He also played for Morocco’s under-23 football team and the national football team.

(BBC Sport) Morocco's Abderrazak Hamdallah has broken the record for league goals in a season in Saudi Arabia, since it became professional in 2007.

He struck twice for Al Nassr as they beat Al Fateh 5-0 on Thursday to take his tally to 29 goals for the season.

The 28-year-old overtakes Al Ahli's Syrian striker Omar Al Somah who scored 27 in the 2015-16 season.

Only Saudi striker Hamzah Idris has scored more in a season with 33 in 1999-2000, before the professional era.

There are two more games left this season for Hamdallah to clinch the all-time record.

He was called up by Herve Renard for Morocco's internationals in March after a three-year absence but he was unable to accept the invitations due to family reasons.

He joins Baghdad Bounedjah in breaking a record in the middle east after the Algeria striker grabbed 39 league goals to help Al Sadd win the Qatari title.