The 18 Senegalese supporters prosecuted for "hooliganism", following the incidents that occurred in mid-January during the CAN 2025 final, were sentenced Thursday to sentences ranging from three months to one year in prison.
Published on: 02/19/2026 - 7:51 p.m. Modified on: 02/19/2026 - 10:24 p.m.
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Moroccan justice on Thursday sentenced to sentences ranging from three months to one year in prison the 18 Senegalese fans detained in Morocco since the final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in mid-January, which was punctuated by incidents.
The defendants were prosecuted for "hooliganism", an accusation including acts of violence particularly against the police, damage to sports equipment, invasion of the lawn as well as throwing projectiles.
Nine of them were sentenced to one year in prison with a fine of 5,000 dirhams (around 460 euros), six others to six months and a fine of 2,000 dirhams (180 euros) and the last three to three months and a fine of 1,000 dirhams (90 euros).
“It’s incomprehensible,” reacted to AFP Me Patrick Kabou, their Senegalese lawyer registered with the Gers bar in France, denouncing the fact that his clients are being used as “scapegoats”.
A Frenchman of Algerian origin, tried for having thrown a bottle of water, was sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of 1,000 dirhams.
His lawyer, Jaouad Benaissi, said he was "sad and disappointed" at the judgment, rendered after a deliberation which lasted more than half an hour after the breaking of the fast on the first day of Ramadan in Morocco.
“Two brother peoples”
Some supporters briefly expressed their discontent, noted an AFP journalist on site. They indicated that they would appeal on Friday.
On January 18, during the CAN final in Rabat, Senegal won 1-0 after a chaotic match.
Following a penalty awarded to Morocco in added time of the second half, just after a goal denied to Senegal, Senegalese supporters attempted to invade the field and threw projectiles towards the pitch.
The prosecution had requested up to two years in prison for each of them.
“They deliberately wanted to disrupt the smooth running of the match” and “committed violence broadcast live on television channels,” declared the representative of the public prosecutor.
During the hearing, the accused reaffirmed "their innocence" while saying they "regret what happened", emphasizing in particular that "the two peoples", Moroccan and Senegalese, were "brothers", according to the defense lawyer, Naïma El-Guellaf.
370,000 euros of estimated material damage
The accusation is based mainly on images from cameras at the Moulay Abdellah stadium as well as on the medical certificates of members of the police and injured stewards, said the representative of the prosecution, who estimated the material damage at more than 370,000 euros.
“The camera image captures do not (...) represent irrefutable proof of their guilt,” argued Naïma El Guellaf, who had requested their release or, failing that, alternative sentences. “There is no case of flagrante delicto.”
At the end of January, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed a series of disciplinary sanctions, including fines amounting to several hundred thousand euros, on the two federations for unsporting behavior and violations of the principles of fair play.
For his part, the civil party's lawyer, Mustapha Simou, who represents 14 members of the police, stressed that "the CAF sanctions do not exempt the accused from their criminal responsibility, on the contrary, they confirm their guilt, especially since Senegal has not contested them".
With AFP
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