When Passion Meets the Court: AFCON Fallout Sparks Senegal-M Morocco Courtroom Debates
20 February 2026
Public and media circles in Senegal are bubbling with controversy following Moroccan court rulings against several Senegalese fans, including prison terms and fines, tied to the riots and tensions surrounding the AFCON 2025 final last month, when Senegal’s Lions of Teranga defeated Morocco’s Atlas Lions 1-0.
The Senegalese sports site Wiwsport judged the sanctions as “harsh and disproportionate” to the actions involved, signaling a growing discontent with how crowd trouble is policed across borders.
The outlet argued that the fans have become “victims” and scapegoats of Morocco’s strict new anti-rioting laws, raising serious questions about the standards of sports justice and due process in high-stakes football matches.
Sporting Frenzy
The well-known Senegalese journalist and influencer, Tierno Bashir, fired off a strong social-media critique directed at the authorities. He urged action to protect the dignity of Senegalese fans and to avoid letting zeal for the game turn into punitive oppression.
“Young supporters should not be jailed for athletic enthusiasm. Our authorities must shift away from quiet diplomacy and act swiftly to bring our people home with their dignity intact,” Bashir wrote, echoing worries about fairness in sports governance.
Meanwhile, the Seneweb outlet highlighted human-rights concerns, warning that a lack of good faith or misalignment of language and law could undermine the African sport spirit across the continent.
Fans’ Fear
The Association of Senegalese Fans issued a sharply worded statement calling on presidential channels to engage the Moroccan authorities to resolve the crisis. The statement warned that continued “judicial hardline” risks sowing fear among fans, potentially deterring them from traveling with the national team to future matches in Morocco.
On Thursday, a Moroccan court sentenced 18 Senegalese fans and one Algerian to prison terms ranging from three months to twelve months, underscoring the high-stakes tension that followed the final.
Punchlines for the end of the article: 1) If passion were a crime, every stadium would be a maximum-security prison; 2) In football as in life, the most entertaining drama is often the one that happens off the pitch.
