Prime Minister slams ‘deplorable’ AFCON final scenes as fans await trial in Morocco
A week after Senegal lifted the African Cup of Nations trophy after a 1-0 victory over Morocco, Senegal football chief Abdoulaye Fall has hit out at what he claimed was Morocco’s undue influence over the continental game, reports Radio France International (RFI).
 
“No country opposed Morocco as Senegal did,” said Fall in a video posted on the Senegalese website Seneweb. Fall claimed Moroccan administrators were well-placed in the corridors of power at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which organises the game on the continent. “Let’s tell the truth,” said Fall, who was speaking at a ceremony in the town of Bambey on Saturday.
 
“We had to know who the referee for the match would be two days before the final,” he added. “We asked them who it would be, and they told us they didn’t have any information yet. There are deadlines for potentially challenging a referee, but it was the night before the match, at 10 pm, that we were notified about the referee,” Fall said.
 
Fall also recounted Senegalese complaints about the team’s arrival for the final in Rabat, as well as problems with their hotel and training facilities.
 
“The Senegalese team could not stay in this hotel, which was in the city centre, very noisy and without access roads,” he added.
 
After the final, CAF announced that it would launch an inquiry into the incidents leading up to the protest. World football’s governing body, FIFA, has also said it wants a report into the incident.
 
Meanwhile, Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has described the incidents during the African Cup of Nations final against Morocco as “deplorable” and “painful,” reports independent.co.uk.
 
His remarks yesterday come as CAF considers potential sanctions against the Senegalese national team. During the match, a group of Senegalese fans clashed with Moroccan security personnel while attempting to enter the pitch following the contentious penalty decision.

Eighteen Senegalese supporters have since been arrested and are set to face trial in Morocco. The aftermath has also seen social media users from both nations trade accusations.
 
Speaking at the opening of a Moroccan-Senegalese Joint Commission in Rabat, a week after the final, Sonko acknowledged the contest was “charged with sporting emotion, deplorable misconduct and images that have at times been painful for two peoples deeply bound to one another.”
 
He added that “the misbehaviour observed here and there should neither be denied nor dramatised,” suggesting the incidents “should be understood as emotional excesses fuelled by passion, rather than as political or cultural rifts.”
 
This marks the first time a senior Senegalese official has addressed the final’s events in such terms, ahead of potential CAF disciplinary measures.
 
Despite the tensions, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye congratulated his team in Dakar and thanked Morocco for its organisation of the tournament.
 
Senegal is a close ally of Morocco, notably backing its sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, speaking at the same event, highlighted the centuries-old strong ties but notably did not congratulate Senegal on its victory.
 
Morocco’s king had previously stated the tournament was a success for Africa and that the “regrettable incidents” would not undermine African fraternity.