Rabat – Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has criticized Morocco’s judiciary for sentencing Senegalese fans involved in acts of vandalism and violence during the AFCON 2025 final.
The Senegalese PM alleged the case “has gone beyond the realm of sport.”
He made his remarks on Tuesday before the National Assembly of Senegal, claiming that matters between Senegal and Morocco “should never have escalated to this level.”
“For two countries that consider themselves friends like Morocco and Senegal things should not have escalated to this level,” he said, alleging the sentences are “regrettable.”
Last week, a Moroccan Moroccan court sentenced the 18 Senegalese fans to sentences between three months and one year in prison over vandalism in the AFCON final.
The charges included hooliganism, acts of violence against security services, damage to sports facilities, pitch invasion, and projectile throwing during the chaotic match between Senegal and Morocco.
Videos and live cameras documented the hooliganism, with several fans appearing as they were attacking security guards with chairs they destroyed in the Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium.
Nine of the people involved were sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of MAD 5,000 ($500), while six others received six months prison sentences and a MAD 2,000 ($200) fine.
The remaining three received three months in prison and a MAD 1,000 ($100) fine.
Despite the serious and disturbing acts of violence, Sonko alleged that the handling of this case does not honor the ties between the two countries.
He added that his country had done “everything” possible to secure the release of the 18 nationals.
Sonko also hopes King Mohammed VI to grant them a royal pardon.
He stressed his country could activate an agreement between Rabat and Dakar to allow the mutual transfer of convicted persons between the two countries.
Sonko’s remarks came a week after similar remarks echoed by the Senegalese Football Federation, which described the sentencing of the defendants as “incomprehensibly harsh.”
“Clashes occur in numerous stadiums around the world, including every weekend in Morocco, without resulting in such sanctions,” Bacary Cisse, the president of the Senegalese Football Federation’s communications committee, said.