Senegal fans pardoned by Morocco’s king return home | OneFootball

Senegalese supporters jailed after January's violent scenes at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat returned home on Sunday morning, after King Mohammed VI granted them a royal pardon on Saturday for human considerations ahead of Eid al-Adha, which Morocco will mark on Wednesday, the royal cabinet said in a statement.

On 18 January in Rabat, Senegal won 1-0 at the end of a chaotic final. After a penalty was awarded to Morocco in second-half stoppage time, moments after a Senegal goal had been disallowed, several Senegal players left the pitch and supporters tried to invade the field and threw projectiles.

In February, Moroccan courts sentenced 18 Senegalese to between three months and one year in prison for hooliganism, including violence against the security forces. Three were released in mid-April after serving three months, and Saturday's pardon covered the remaining 15.

They landed overnight at Blaise Diagne International Airport in Diamniadio, on the outskirts of Dakar, where President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and officials from the Senegalese Football Federation received them. Faye thanked the Moroccan authorities for the clemency ahead of Tabaski, then reiterated that the Lions are African champions for the second time, although the title is currently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe also praised the decision, describing it as a compelling example of football's power to bring people together in Africa and around the world.

Source: L'Équipe