The Senegalese Football Federation denounced prison sentences handed down by a Moroccan court to 18 of its nationals on Thursday as “incomprehensibly harsh,” opening a diplomatic and legal row between two of Africa’s leading football nations in the weeks following one of the most turbulent finals in the AFCON history.
The hearing at Rabat’s Court of First Instance lasted more than five hours. When the presiding judge delivered the verdict, one defendant fainted in the dock. Others refused to rise from the defendants’ bench when ordered to file through the door leading to the holding cells. The 18 Senegalese supporters, along with a French national also convicted, had been held in pre-trial detention since the day of the final, January 18, when Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat to claim the continental title on Moroccan soil.
Nine defendants were sentenced to one year in prison and fined 5,000 Moroccan dirhams, equivalent to approximately $510. Six received six-month terms with fines of 2,000 dirhams. The remaining three were sentenced to three months with fines of 1,000 dirhams.
All denied committing any wrongdoing. The sentences fell short of the prosecution’s request, the public prosecutor had sought the maximum penalty of two years for some of the accused, arguing they had deliberately disrupted the proper conduct of the match and committed acts of violence broadcast live on television.
The prosecution presented stadium surveillance footage and medical reports documenting injuries sustained by security personnel and stadium stewards. Authorities estimated material damage to the stadium at more than four million Moroccan dirhams, approximately $430,000. Defence lawyer Naima El Guellaf told the court the footage did not contain irrefutable proof that any individual defendant had directly struck or assaulted anyone. She also raised the question of double jeopardy, arguing that the Confederation of African Football had already sanctioned the Senegalese federation for its supporters’ conduct and that criminal prosecution of the same individuals on the same basis was procedurally inappropriate.
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The civil plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mustapha Simou, who represented 14 injured security officers, rejected that argument: “CAF’s sanctions do not exempt the accused from criminal responsibility. On the contrary, they confirm their guilt.”
The incidents that led to the arrests unfolded across a match that deteriorated progressively from the second half onward. Tensions escalated sharply after referee Jean-Jacques Ngambo disallowed Ismaila Sarr’s goal for Senegal in stoppage time, ruling that a foul had occurred in the build-up, without referring the decision to the video assistant referee. Morocco were subsequently awarded a penalty following a VAR review, prompting Senegal’s players to halt proceedings for nearly 20 minutes in protest and walk to the centre circle in a coordinated act of refusal. In the stands, some Senegalese supporters attempted to invade the pitch. Others threw objects, including a chair, onto the field. Security forces intervened, making multiple arrests.
The Senegalese Football Federation responded with a statement that made no concession to the court’s findings. Bacary Cissé, president of the federation’s communications committee, said the federation expressed its “profound dismay and distress.” He argued the penalties were disproportionate to the nature of the offences and inconsistent with how comparable incidents are treated elsewhere.
“Clashes occur in numerous stadiums around the world, including every weekend in Morocco, without resulting in such sanctions,” he said. Defence lawyer Patrick Kabou described the verdict as “incomprehensible” and said his clients were “victims.”
CAF moved separately in late January, fining the Senegalese Football Federation $615,000 and the Moroccan Football Federation $315,000 for multiple violations linked to supporter conduct and the actions of team officials and players during the match.
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Senegal coach Pape Bouna Thiaw was handed a five-match suspension and a $100,000 fine. Players Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr received two-match bans each. The bans on Thiaw and the four players apply only to CAF competitions and will not affect either country’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where Morocco will compete in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland, and Haiti.
The verdict arrives at a moment of heightened sensitivity in Senegal-Morocco relations that extends well beyond football. Social media in both countries was flooded with acrimonious exchanges in the days following the final, prompting senior officials in Dakar and Rabat to issue calls for calm.
Moroccan rights groups documented what they described as a surge in hate speech directed across national lines. The criminal proceedings were watched closely in both countries as a test of whether judicial processes would be seen as equitable or as an extension of the broader political fallout.
Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, a context that gives questions about stadium security, crowd management, and the prosecution of visiting supporters an institutional weight well beyond the current case.
The organisation of a World Cup requires extensive coordination with FIFA and UEFA over supporter rights, transit arrangements, and legal frameworks governing foreign nationals at matches, areas where Thursday’s verdict will now attract scrutiny.