"They want us to delete the images" - Morocco star Achraf Hakimi seen arguing and confronting FIFA president Gianni Infantino

FIFA are attempting to remove the images of Achraf Hakimi arguing with the organization's president Gianni Infantino following Morocco's 2-1 defeat to Croatia on 17 December. ( According to SVT Sports reporter Johan Kucukaslan)

They lost 2-0 to France in the semi-finals and went on to lodge an official complaint against referee Cesar Ramos for some of his refereeing decisions in the game.

Morocco felt hard done by the refereeing once again when they lost to Croatia in their third-place match. One such instance was when Youssef En-Nesyri's header hit Bruno Petkovic close to his arm and Morocco felt they were denied a penalty.

Another instance saw Achraf Hakimi go down under a challenge from Petkovic, but Abdulrahman Al-Jassim waved play on. After the game, Hakimi was apparently seen arguing with Infantino during the medal distribution ceremony.

Morocco finish fourth at the World Cup—the highest position ever by an African team 🌍🇲🇦 https://t.co/T4sA09AXiA

He supposedly pleaded in a polite and desperate fashion, and as per SVT Sports reporter Johan Kucukaslan, FIFA are trying to suppress the images from reaching the public. He said:

"They wanted us to delete the images. It is clear that these are embarrassing scenes for them, and it is a bit naive of them to think that a dozen journalists should not report on this when we witness it happening."

The campaign promised so much for the Atlas Lions when they beat Portugal to qualify for the semi-finals.

But defeats in back-to-back games mean they will return to their homeland with a valiant fourth-place finish for their efforts in Qatar. Croatia, meanwhile, have ensured a podium finish in consecutive World Cups - a momentous achievement for a tiny European nation.

Morocco manager chooses to see the positives after FIFA World Cup exit

Morocco manager Walid Regragui hopes Morocco's performance inspires other African countries to reach new heights on the international stage.

GAME recognizes GAME! 🧤

Egyptian 🇪🇬 goalkeeping royalty Essam El Hadary shows support to Morocco’s 🇲🇦 standout goalkeeper at the World Cup Yassine Bounou.

El Hadary is the oldest player at 45 years and 161 days in history to play in a World Cup match.

https://t.co/b0A6M2iUVE

Following the defeat to Croatia, he said (h/t Mirror):

"Before the tournament, we were given 0.01 per cent chance of doing this, and we got to the last four. We are now one of the top four teams in the world and if you had told me that before the tournament, I would have taken it. I would not have changed anything."

He added:

"We also learned a lot from playing Belgium, Spain and Portugal. We have shown we can go toe-to-toe with some of these top teams. This should inspire other African countries."

Regragui concluded:

"It is in the DNA of European teams to reach the last stages and we have to develop that in our DNA too. Then, one day, we can win the World Cup."