Ivory Coast Coach Emerse Faé: “Egypt always rely on crying and deceiving referees”

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé attacked the Egypt national team following his side’s 3-2 defeat in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The north African team eliminated Ivory Coast from AFCON 2025, stripping them of the title they had won under Faé’s leadership in the previous 2023 edition.

Speaking in comments broadcast by TNT Sports, Faé accused the Pharaohs of relying on deceiving referees, saying:
“I have known the playing style of the Egypt national team since the 2006 final. They always rely on crying, complaining, and deceiving referees, and they have great experience in doing so.”

He added:
“If the referee falls into Egypt’s trap, everything goes out of our control. What frustrates me the most is that we knew their style — dropping deep, defending, playing on counter-attacks, then going down easily, deceiving referees, and wasting time.”

Faé concluded his remarks by pointing the finger at his own team’s mistakes, saying:
“What makes me angry and frustrated is that we conceded stupid goals. There was a lack of concentration and too many mistakes.”

It is worth noting that Emerse Faé was part of the Ivory Coast squad that lost the AFCON 2006 final to Egypt.

Egypt have historically proven to be a major obstacle for Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations, having lost only once in 12 direct encounters between the two sides in the competition.

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.