Senegalese football fans return home after royal pardon in Morocco | Football news

Fans arrested in Morocco in the aftermath of the AFCON 2025 final returned following a humanitarian pardon from the Moroccan king.

A group of Senegalese football supporters jailed after the chaotic, violence-plagued Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Morocco in January have returned home after being pardoned by the Moroccan king.

King Mohammed VI pardoned the fans “on humanitarian grounds” on the occasion of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, Morocco’s royal court said on Saturday.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye welcomed the jubilant supporters as they arrived at the airport outside Dakar on Sunday.

“We are very happy that they are back on Senegalese soil,” Faye, who donned a tracksuit for the occasion, told reporters.

He thanked Moroccan authorities for the pardon but praised the national team, in what Morocco is likely to see as a new adventure, as “two-time African champions”, even though January’s final is the subject of an ongoing dispute before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Senegal won the tumultuous continental final against Morocco in Rabat on January 18, but the match was later awarded to the hosts on appeal.

With the score tied at 0-0, Senegalese fans tried to storm the field and throw projectiles after a penalty awarded by Morocco in injury time of the second half – just after a Senegal goal was disallowed.

The Senegalese team left the field in protest against the penalty, halting play for almost twenty minutes.

When they returned, they watched happily as Morocco missed the penalty and then scored a winner in the 94th minute.

In February, Moroccan courts sentenced 18 Senegalese supporters held in Morocco since the final to prison terms ranging from three months to a year for hooliganism.

Three were released in mid-April after serving their three-month sentences.

Following that release, another 15 Senegalese fans remained imprisoned, having been given sentences ranging from six months to a year.

The royal pardon applied to those fifteen.

Repairing tires

The episode has strained relations between Morocco and Senegal, countries with a history of friendly ties.

But Morocco’s royal court said that in view of “the centuries-old fraternal ties” between the two countries “and on the occasion of the arrival of Eid al-Adha”, which will be celebrated in the country on Wednesday, the king had “granted his royal pardon to the Senegalese supporters on humanitarian grounds”.

The Senegalese president had previously welcomed the decision in a post on X.

“Our compatriots… are free. They will soon be reunited with their loved ones,” Faye wrote.

He thanked King Mohammed VI for the decision “steeped in clemency and humanity”.

According to the Moroccan public prosecutor’s office, the charges against the eighteen football fans were mainly based on images from cameras at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, and on medical certificates from injured law enforcement officers and stewards.

The material damage caused by the violence was estimated at more than 370,000 euros (about $430,000).

At the end of January, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed disciplinary sanctions on both national federations for unsportsmanlike conduct and violations of the principles of fair play.

After the CAF decided on March 17 to award the title to Morocco by administrative decision, Senegal appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The two countries have a history of cooperation in sectors such as tourism and energy, and share strong religious ties.

Senegalese are the largest foreign community in Morocco.