Members of the Moroccan government demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the national team’s dismal performance in the African Cup of Nations (ACN) in Egypt, which lead to their departure from the first round.

"We want to know why the sport in general does not have a good image at the moment. The poor performance of Morocco in Egypt touched all Moroccans," senator Mohamed Mansouri was quoted as saying by BBC Sport on Friday.

The government members sent a letter to President of the senate Mustapha Oukacha to inquire why the Atlas Lions, who were runners-up in the 2004 African Cup in Tunisia, exited this years competition from round-one.

The Moroccan parliament members also demanded an investigation into why French coach Philippe Troussier was sacked after only two months in the job and was replaced by Mohammed Fakhir in the run-up to the finals.

The Atlas Lions failed to win a single match and came at third place in the Group A standings with a tally of two points from two draws with Egypt and Libya.