During the Zambia media conference, prior to their scheduled match against Spain tomorrow, a journalist asked Zambian coach Bruce Mwape whether he had any intention of resigning following allegations of sexual abuse.

Meanwhile, Morocco's captain Ghizlane Chebbak was asked whether there were any gay players in the country's squad, prior to their match against Germany.

In the Zambia media conference, Mwape was asked about newspaper reports that he was being investigated by FIFA over allegations of sexual misconduct.

Mwape, who has consistently denied the allegations, replied to questions about his position: "What environment, affecting the team, in particular? What are you talking about?", as reported by GOAL.

"I would like to know, because there is no way I can retire [resign] without reason. 

"Maybe your reason is because of what you are reading from the media, or from the press, but the truth of the matter should actually come out, not just rumours."

Despite an order from the moderator of the media conference for journalists to stick to questions about football and the tournament itself, further questions about the allegations were asked, leading to the media conference being cut short.

In the Morocco media conference, Chebbak was asked whether there were any gay players in the country's squad, after Morocco criminalised same-sex relations with homosexual acts punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.

"'In Morocco it’s illegal to have a gay relationship….do you have any gay players in your squad, and what’s life like for them in Morocco?’," asked the BBC reporter.

The moderator at the media conference interjected saying it was a "very political question" and told the reporter to "just stick to questions relations to football".

The journalists swiftly hit back, insisting "it’s about people, it’s got nothing to do with politics…please let her answer the question".

Other journalists who attended the press conference have since taken to social media to criticise the question before the BBC was forced to issue an apology for the incident.

"We recognise that the question was inappropriate," a BBC spokesperson said.

"We had no intention to cause any harm or distress."

Steph Yang, a reporter from the Athletic, said it was "not an appropriate question for a player and would have endangered the players themselves".

"We are obviously going to talk about the intersection of politics and sports at this World Cup, and it’s vital to do so," Yang wrote Twitter.

"But we should take care that our questions don’t cause further harm to those impacted by those very politics."

Shireen Ahmed, a journalist for CBC Sports, claimed that the reporter was "completely out of line".

"Harm reduction matters and posing the question to the captain or coach was unnecessary," Ahmed wrote on Twitter.

"The question was waved off by a FIFA media officer moderating but it shouldn't have been asked.

"Asking a player about her teammates and whether they are gay and how it affects them when you know it is not permissible is bizarre and out of line.

"The captain cannot out players nor comment on policy bc (sic) it could be dangerous for them, too.

"This isn't an issue of journalistic freedom.

"You can inquire about social laws in different places without endangering people.

"Journalists have an obligation to be fair, accurate and practice with care. If reporting harms someone, it is not only unethical but dangerous."

Morocco are making their debut at the FIFA Women’s World Cup but suffered a 6-0 defeat to two-time champions Germany in their Group H opener at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in the Australian city.