A former African Player of The Year has now been slapped with a huge five-year ban by CAF after being found guilty of fraud.
Morocco legend Mustapha Hadji has been found to have used a falsified FIFA 'A' coaching license by CAF's Disciplinary Committee.
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The former Aston Villa star served as an assistant coach for the Morocco national team from May 2014 until June 2022, little more than a month before previous head coach Vahid Halilhodzic was sacked, but will now not be allowed to engage in any football activities for 60 months.
"In the present case, the CAF disciplinary panel noted that after investigation with the Central African Football Federation, it was established that the license certificate 'A' in the name of Mr Mustapha Hadji is falsified and that he has never registered for License A training and that no diploma has been issued to him by this federation," part of a statement from CAF read.
"Fraud is a serious offence which undermines CAF's values and principles of ethics.
"... Moreover, after having examined all the available elements, the disciplinary panel considers that the offence committed by Mustapha Hadji is likely to harm the credibility of the governing institutions of football, including CAF, and must be sanctioned accordingly."
The A license is regarded as the highest coaching certificate provided by CAF, and it allows its holders to coach at a senior professional level across all parts of the world.
Hadji also served 45 games under French boss Herve Renard during a spell that saw the Atlas Lions qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia for the first time in 20 years.
He was also assistant to managers Zaki Badou (18 games), Houcine Ammouta (10 games), and Jamal Sellami (six games).
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The 51-year-old, who can reportedly appeal the decision but is yet to do so, remains the only Moroccan to have been named the African Footballer of the Year, with that honour coming in 1998 following an impressive showing for the Atlas Lions at the World Cup in France.
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