Ivory Coast Advances to AFCON Semifinals, Honors Morocco with Flag Gesture

Reduced to ten men, Côte d’Ivoire narrowly defeated Mali (2-1) on Saturday at the Bouaké stadium in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), thus validating their ticket for the last four of the competition. At the end of this hard-fought match, Ivorian supporters handed the Moroccan flag to Ivorian international Seko Fofana. He carried it and made a lap of the stadium. A special way for the Ivorians to express their love for Morocco and the Moroccans.

The Moroccan national flag was seen several times among Ivorian supporters, especially after the Elephants’ last-minute qualification for the round of 16 of the CAN. While they were at the bottom of the hole, dominated by Equatorial Guinea (4-0), and on the verge of elimination, it took a victory by Morocco over Zambia (1-0) for the Ivorian players to continue the adventure. Hakim Ziyech, the author of the only goal of the match, was celebrated by the Ivorian supporters.