Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi has responded to Salis Abdul Samed’s apology for a dangerous red-card tackle in Paris Saint-Germain- PSG’s 3-1 win against RC Lens on Saturday in the French Ligue 1.
The Ghanaian international was shown a straight red following a reckless tackle on Hakimi at the Parc de Princes.
PSG capitalized on the send-off to secure a crucial 3-1 victory over RC Lens in their bid to defend their Ligue 1 crown. Kylian Mbappe’s record-breaking strike put the hosts ahead in the 31st minute. The exuberant winger became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in the history of the French top flight with 139 goals.
Summer acquisition Vitinha then pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he unleashed a 25-yard piledriver to double the lead for the Parisians. It was game over—and probably the title race too—as Leo Messi and Mbappe combined stupendously for a third goal before halftime.
RC Lens could not replicate the momentous victory they secured over Paris Saint-Germain in January. Things went south for Lens when midfielder Salis Samed was dismissed for a reckless tackle on PSG’s Achraf Hakimi.
Remorseful Samed reaches out to Hakami
Samed stretched out his right foot in an attempt to win the ball from Hakimi but the timing of his challenge was very poor.
The 23-year-old caught the Moroccan on the right ankle and was shown a direct red card after only 18 minutes of play.
However, Samed was very remorseful about the incident. He took to his Twitter account on Sunday to apologize to his club and Hakimi.
The Black Star wrote, “Very sad to have abandoned the team in this way.”
“I apologize to those I disappointed and to Achraf Hakimi. Had no bad intentions, and I really regret it. I apologize to all Lensois,” he added.
Moroccan superstar Hakimi eventually responded to the Ghanaian’s apology from his social media account. The Atlas Lion replied, “These are things that happen in football. Good luck for the rest of the season!”
It is a great show of sportsmanship and respect between the young African pair from Morocco and Ghana, respectively. The duo will look forward to sharing the pitch again as they contest for top honors at both the club and international levels.
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Hakimi and the Atlas Lions have already booked a ticket to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Samed’s Black Stars sit at the top of Group E of the AFCON qualifiers with 8 points from 4 matches.
