CAN 2025: Senegalese supporters detained in Morocco are finally free.

On Saturday, May 23, King Mohammed VI of Morocco granted royal clemency to the sixteen Senegalese supporters still incarcerated in Rabat since the incidents at the final of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, coinciding with the celebration of Eid al-Adha. The announcement was made by the royal cabinet, which cited “humanitarian considerations” and the excellence of the “long-standing and multidimensional brotherly relations” binding Morocco and Senegal.

Of the eighteen supporters initially sentenced, nine received one year in prison, six were given six months, and three got three months. Two of the latter had already served their sentence and returned to Dakar. The remaining sixteen were released during the night of May 23-24. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye personally went to the special pavilion of Blaise Diagne International Airport around 1:00 AM to welcome his compatriots as they disembarked from the plane. He wore the national team’s jersey for the occasion. He confirmed the release with the following statement: “Our compatriots detained in Morocco following the incidents during the CAN are free. We commend this significant gesture from the Cherifian Kingdom.”

The events date back to January 18, 2026, during the final held at the Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat. The incidents erupted after a penalty was awarded to Morocco in the final minutes, moments after a goal was disallowed for Senegal. Supporters invaded the pitch, threw projectiles, and clashed with law enforcement. Security personnel were injured, and significant material damage was recorded.

A Three-Stage Judicial Procedure

The first-instance verdict was delivered on February 19, 2026, by the Rabat court of first instance, in the presence of Senegalese consular representatives and the defendants’ lawyer, Me Patrick Kabou. The prosecution had sought sentences of up to two years; however, the court imposed sentences of three months, six months, and one year, accompanied by fines of 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000 dirhams, respectively.

On appeal, on April 13, 2026, the Rabat Court of Appeal upheld the sentences imposed in the first instance, refusing to follow the prosecution’s call for harsher penalties. The defense had requested the appearance of CAF president Patrice Motsepe as a witness, believing that his hearing could shed light on the organizational context surrounding the incidents, but this was not granted.

The convicted supporters claimed they had ended up on the pitch due to a crowd surge and not intentionally, an argument dismissed by both courts. A group of Senegalese citizens submitted a memorandum to the Moroccan embassy in Dakar at the end of February to protest what they considered disproportionate sentences.

A Heavily Charged Diplomatic and Sporting Context

The release of the supporters comes amid unresolved sports disputes between the two countries. Senegal appealed at the end of March to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne against the CAF’s decision of March 17 to award the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to Morocco on a technicality. Senegal had indeed won the match on the field — the Lions of Teranga were officially victorious in the final played on January 18, 2026 — before the CAF issued a disciplinary verdict reversing the sporting result due to the incidents.

Moreover, the CAF imposed a fine of $300,000 on the Senegalese Football Federation for the behavior of its supporters, an additional fine of $300,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct by its players and coaching staff, as well as a five-match suspension for coach Pape Bouna Thiaw for unsportsmanlike behavior. Morocco was also sanctioned by the CAF.

The CAF praised the royal clemency in a statement, thanking Mohammed VI for the “spirit of overcoming” he demonstrated. The royal clemency concludes the Moroccan criminal proceedings but does not affect the ongoing proceedings before the CAS regarding the sporting outcome of the final.