Overview
- A Rabat court convicted supporters on hooliganism charges linked to the Jan. 18 Africa Cup of Nations final disturbances, with reports citing either 19 defendants including a French national or 18 Senegalese fans.
- According to defense counsel cited by AP, 11 received one year in prison, four got six months, and four received three months, while RFI reported a breakdown of nine, six, and three respectively.
- Prosecutors had sought sentences of up to two years and presented stadium surveillance footage and medical reports on injuries to security staff as key evidence.
- Authorities estimated stadium damage at roughly 4 million dirhams (about $476,000); the defendants have been in pre-trial detention since their Jan. 18 arrests.
- The Senegalese Football Federation condemned the rulings as excessively harsh, and the case proceeds separately from CAF’s earlier fines and match bans that apply only to CAF competitions.