"He decides who stands in the first row for prayer": Al-Tarabulsi reveals shocking interference in the Tunisia national team
During the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco
Sami Trabelsi has dropped a bombshell. The former Tunisia coach claims one of the local football federation's officials meddled so deeply in the affairs of the Eagles of Carthage that his interference went far beyond player selections and technical decisions. According to Trabelsi, it reached right inside the national team's camp, even deciding who stood in the front rows during prayer.
Speaking today, Saturday, to Tunisia's "Mosaique" radio, Trabelsi pinned part of the blame for Tunisia's failure at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on those interventions. The repeated meddling, he insisted, poisoned the working atmosphere within the team and piled pressure on his technical staff.
Trabelsi recalled the weeks before the continental tournament, when the mood turned tense after Tunisia crashed out of the Arab Cup group stage in Qatar in November 2025. The federation official's interference only deepened the crisis. At one point, he admitted, he considered resigning and flying home before the Africa Cup of Nations even kicked off.
The interventions did not stop at opinions on technical selections, Trabelsi said. They went as far as an attempt to impose specific names on the squad. "There was someone who opposed the call-up of Naim Sliti, and wanted to force me to call up a player from the Tunisian league. All of this was done by an official in the Tunisian Football Federation, he is the one who decides everything," he added.
His account went further still. The same official, Trabelsi claimed, dictated other details around the national team, from the timing of players' treatment right down to who stood in the front rows during prayer. It was, he suggested, a measure of just how far the man's grip stretched inside the Eagles of Carthage's camp.
For all his sharp criticism, Trabelsi did not duck his own share of the blame. He accepted that the national team fell short of expectations and failed to deliver results during his spell in charge, and he apologised to Tunisian fans for coming up short of his targets.
The Tunisian federation sacked Trabelsi after the failure at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Sabri Lamouchi stepped in as his successor, only to leave after a single official match at the 2026 World Cup, with criticism mounting over the team's journey and results.
Moaine Chaabani now leads the Tunisia national team. He has overseen two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, both ending in draws, against Uganda and Botswana.
