Manchester United bosses were left ‘frustrated’ and issued an appeal to FIFA after Ruben Amorim was forced to be without Noussair Mazraoui against Bournemouth.
In the build-up to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, FIFA recommended that all players selected for the tournament should be released by their respective clubs at least seven days before their opening match.
Morocco, this year’s host nation, begin their AFCON campaign against Comoros on December 21, just six days after United’s clash with Bournemouth took place.
Given the relatively short period of time between the two games, the Moroccan FA decided to block Mazraoui from featuring in the eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford.
Mazraoui would have been given the green light had the fixture not moved into a television broadcast slot on Monday evening.
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According to ESPN, United had been planning to call upon Mazraoui before their initial request was rejected by Morocco and the Red Devils subsequently escalated the matter to FIFA.
However, FIFA supported Morocco’s stance as it aligned with their pre-tournament guidance.
The report claims United’s hierarchy feel they were ‘unfairly punished’ after their Premier League fixture was moved to Monday – a decision that was ultimately out of their control.
Mazraoui had been training as usual with the rest of Amorim’s squad last week and remained ‘professional’ and respectful’ throughout the disagreement with his club and country.
The 28-year-old defender, formerly of Bayern Munich and Ajax, is understood to have departed for international duty on Sunday night.
Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo both played key roles against Bournemouth after United held positive discussions about their involvement with Cameroon and the Ivory Coast respectively.
The two forwards – and Mazraoui – will be unavailable for United’s return to Premier League action away to third-placed Aston Villa this weekend.
Casemiro will also miss the trip to Villa Park after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.
‘It’s an opportunity for everyone, we’ll be ready for the challenge,’ Amorim said of the challenge that awaits his squad over the winter period.
‘We already knew that could happen to any team. A lot of teams are going to lose players, a lot of teams have injuries and we need to just go into the next game with the responsibility to win the game, to fight.
‘We will try to find different ways of creating chances and scoring goals.’
