Senegal denounces jail sentence for football fans in Morocco
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Senegal’s prime minister on Tuesday bewailed a Moroccan court’s prison sentence against 18 Senegalese football supporters convicted over a pitch invasion during an international match last month.
The supporters were detained in Morocco after the Africa Cup of Nations final on January 18, accused of violence against security forces and of causing damage.
On Thursday, a court handed them sentences ranging from three months to one year in jail and fines worth up to $545.
“It seems this matter goes beyond the realm of sport, and that is regrettable,” Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko told parliament.
“For two countries that call each other friends, like Morocco and Senegal, things should not have gone this far.”
He said Morocco’s handling of the case “does not honour” relations between the two countries, adding that Senegal had done “all it should” to secure their release.
Sonko said that Senegal could, if necessary, activate a bilateral agreement allowing the mutual transfer of convicts.
Senegal won the CAN final 1–0 in Rabat after a chaotic match in which Senegalese supporters tried to storm the pitch and threw projectiles.
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