Some eighteen (18) Senegalese nationals in police custody in Morocco have embarked on a hunger strike ahead of their trial next week.

They were arrested during the AFCON final, which was held in Rabat on January 18, for acts of hooliganism.

According to Lawyer Patrick Kabou, counsel for one of the detainees, his client informed him that they have been held in custody for over 21 days since their arrest and have yet to be formally informed of the charges against them. The detainees were arrested on January 18, following a heated AFCON final in which Senegal beat Morocco in Rabat.

Mr Kabou, during an engagement with the news agency AFP, mentioned that his clients andother detainees have complained that, since their detention, they have only been questioned in French and Arabic, whereas they “only speak Wolof”, their native language.

The group said they were being denied their “right to justice” and pledged to continue the strike “until Moroccan justice gives us the chance to be heard”, Kabou added.

A first court hearing in late January had been adjourned by the judge, and the second hearing on Thursday was also put off amid an ongoing lawyers’ strike in Morocco. The trial is set to resume next week.

The final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was nothing short of controversial, chaotic and tense; however, the side widely alleged to be at the centre of it all was Senegal.

This followed Morocco being awarded a penalty after their player, Ayoub El Kaabi, tumbled in the box following contact with Senegal defender Abdou Diallo. The referee initially waved play on, but later intervened after a VAR review.

Following the check, Morocco were awarded a penalty, which clearly upset Senegal’s players, who believed the contact was minimal and that El Kaabi had gone down too easily.

Consequently, they staged a walk-off in protest on the pitch. During this time, some Senegalese supporters attempted to storm the pitch, with some captured throwing objects onto the field, including a chair.

Sadio Mane’s role in calming chaos

Meanwhile, during the walk-off, the intervention of their captain, former Liverpool forward Sadio Mané, persuaded them to return and continue the game. However, many believe their return was not solely due to Mané’s intervention but also influenced by Morocco missing the penalty.

Diaz missed the resulting penalty as he bizarrely clipped a Panenka effort down the middle and straight at Edouard Mendy.

In an interesting turn of events, Pape Gueye notched a goal in stoppage time, giving Senegal a lead in the 94th-minute securing the team their second AFCON title.

Sadio explains the motive behind his actionFollowing their victory over Morocco, Mane, during an interview with the media, explained that even though the referee’s decision might have been wrong, the most important thing is to respect the game and keep playing, hence his decision to call his teammates back o the pitch to play as football is widely love globally and it will have been unfair to the people watching to see the game called off over one disputed call.

He said, “When they decided to go out and not play, I stayed and asked some people, ‘What do you think about this? Is it a good idea or not?’ Then I decided to go and bring everyone back to the pitch. I think it is the best thing to do.

“Because this is just football, I think the referee sometimes can make mistakes. People around the world are watching. It could be a penalty or not, but that is not the most important thing. What matters is respecting the game. It is not fair to stop a match like this.”

Mané went on to reflect on the incident that generated headlines around the world, saying: “Football is something special. The world was watching, and the world loves football. I believe football is about enjoyment, so we must give the game a good image.”

“I think it would be crazy not play this game because what, the referee gave a penalty and we go out of the game? I think that would be the worst thing, especially in African football. I'd rather lose than have this kind of thing happen to our football.

“I think it's really bad. Football should not stop for even ten minutes, but what can we do? We have to accept that we did, but the good thing is that we came back and we played the game and what happened, happened.”

Thiaw stated on the part that he played in proceedings: “I didn’t appreciate at all that I told my players to leave the field. I apologise for football. After reflection, I had them come back. Sometimes, you can react in the heat of the moment. But we accept the referee’s mistakes. We offer our apologies to football.”