19 soccer fans have been sentenced to prison over charges of hooliganism at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final between Morocco and Senegal.

The just-ended regional tournament was marred by chaos and a height of hooliganism. From players to coaches to fans invading the pitch.

Amid the chaos, some fans were arrested by the Moroccan police, 18 of whom were Senegalese and one French.

After months of being detained, they were arraigned before the court on Thursday, February 19. Following a hearing which lasted more than five hours, the presiding judge ruled that the fans, 18 Senegalese and a French national, were guilty of more than half a dozen charges, including damaging sporting facilities and committing violence during a sporting event.

Out of the 19, 11 were sentenced to one year in prison and handed a $550 fine. Four were sentenced to six months and given a $218 fine. The remaining four were sentenced to three months and a $130 fine. These were disclosed by lawyer Naima El Guellaf while speaking to The Associated Press.

According to reports, one of the defendants fainted after hearing the sentence, while the others sat unbothered and defiant after being ordered to rise from the defendant’s bench to make way through the small door leading to the holding cells. Family members, visibly shaken, insisted their relatives were innocent.

Attorneys said they plan to appeal the decision that they view as severe.

Early this month, Lawyer Patrick Kabou, counsel for one of the detainees, 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.

During Thursday’s hearing, attended by Senegalese and French diplomats as well as relatives of several defendants, attorneys argued that the court lacked sufficient grounds to convict their clients.

The public prosecutor sought the maximum penalties against the fans, arguing that they had disrupted the orderly conduct of the match. He added that the damage was estimated at more than $476,719.

Last month, CAF, the African soccer body, issued $1 million in fines and bans against Senegal and Morocco over the tumultuous game. Morocco announced it plans to appeal the decision, seeing the sanctions as disproportionate to the incidents.

What exactly happened at the AFCON final, detailed chronologically

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 action

Following 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.”