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Morocco King pardons Senegalese fans jailed for AFCON 2025 scuffle
23rd May, 2026 09:39 PM
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has pardoned the Senegalese football supporters jailed after violence at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Rabat for “humanitarian reasons,” a royal court statement has confirmed.
It said that in view “of the age-old fraternal ties” between the two countries “and on the occasion of the advent of Eid al-Adha”, the king has “granted, on humanitarian grounds, his royal pardon to the Senegalese supporters”.
The Muslim holiday will be celebrated on Wednesday in Morocco.
The 18 fans were jailed following a pitch invasion that followed the awarding of a penalty to Morocco in injury time of the final on January 18.
The game was stopped for 14 minutes while the Senegal players and staff left the field in protest at the decision. When play resumed, Morocco missed the penalty before Senegal sealed a 1-0 win in injury time.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s governing body for football, overturned the decision on March 17, awarding the game as a 3-0 win to Morocco which saw the North Africans crowned champions.
CAF upheld the appeal by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, saying Senegal had infringed tournament regulations by walking off.
Senegal lodged their own appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport; a ruling from the Switzerland-based body could take up to a year.
The chaos witnessed also attracted the wrath of CAF, who imposed fines worth more than $1m and banned Senegal’s coach and Senegalese and Moroccan players.
The sanctions announced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) include fines totalling Ksh79.3 million for the Senegalese Football Federation and Ksh40.6 million for the Royal Moroccan Football Federation for unsporting and improper conduct by their players, coaching staff, and supporters, among other offences.
At the January 18, 2026, AFCON finale, Senegal’s players walked off the pitch, led by coach Pape Thiaw, in protest against a penalty awarded late in regulation time to the hosts, Morocco. Thiaw, who last week defended his side’s actions, was banned for five African games and given a fine of Ksh12.8 million for bringing the game into disrepute, the African confederation said.
The game restarted after a delay of about 15 minutes. Morocco missed the penalty, and Senegal won the African title 1-0 after extra time.
