A Moroccan court sentenced 18 Senegalese football fans on Thursday to prison terms ranging from three to 12 months over charges of hooliganism in last month’s Africa Cup of Nations final.
The group had been in pre-trial detention since January 18, the day of the heated AFCON final in which Morocco lost to Senegal 1-0 on home turf.
The Moroccan prosecution sought a two-year maximum penalty for some, saying the defendants had “deliberately sought to disrupt the proper conduct of the match”.
It said the group “committed acts of violence broadcast live on television”, but the 18 men denied any wrongdoing.
Nine supporters were sentenced to one year in prison and fined 5,000 dirhams ($545), six others received six months and a fine of 2,000 dirhams and three were sentenced to three months with a fine of 1,000 dirhams.
An AFP journalist saw some of them object to their sentences. The defence said it would file an appeal.
Towards the end of last month’s match, some Senegalese supporters attempted a pitch invasion, while Senegal’s players halted the game for nearly 20 minutes to protest a late penalty awarded to Morocco.
Some fans were also seen throwing objects onto the field, including a chair.
Defence lawyer Patrick Kabou described the verdict as “incomprehensible”, saying his clients were “victims”.
The prosecution said evidence against the defendants was based on footage from surveillance cameras at the stadium, as well as medical reports documenting injuries among security forces and stadium stewards.
But another lawyer in their defence team, Naima El Guellaf, told the court the footage did not “contain irrefutable proof showing that any one of them struck or assaulted anyone”.
In late January, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed a series of sanctions, including fines of several hundred thousand dollars, on both Senegalese and Moroccan federations for unsporting behaviour and breaches of fair play.
Guellaf said the defendants should not be “tried twice, since CAF has already sanctioned the Senegalese federation for the supporters’ behaviour”.
But Mustapha Simou, the lawyer for the civil party representing members of the security forces, said CAF’s sanctions did “not exempt the accused from criminal responsibility. On the contrary, they confirm their guilt”.
Material damage to the stadium was estimated at more than 4 million Moroccan dirhams ($430,000), the prosecution said.
Morocco is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
AFP
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