The Albany Gazette - Senegal football fans home after royal pardon

King Mohammed VI granted the fans a pardon "on humanitarian grounds" on the occasion of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, Morocco's royal court said Saturday.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye welcomed the jubilant supporters on arrival at the airport outside Dakar just after 1:00 am, an AFP journalist reported.

"We're very happy to have them back on Senegalese soil," Faye, who donned a tracksuit for the occasion, told journalists.

He thanked Moroccan authorities for the pardon -- but in what Morocco will likely perceive as a new dig, hailed the national team as "two-time African champions", even though the January final is the subject of an ongoing dispute before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Senegal won the tumultuous continental final against Morocco in Rabat on January 18, but the match was later awarded on appeal to the hosts.

With the match tied at 0-0, after a penalty awarded to Morocco in stoppage time of the second half -- just after a Senegal goal was disallowed -- Senegalese fans tried to storm the pitch and hurled projectiles.

The Senegalese team left the pitch in protest at the penalty decision, halting play for nearly 20 minutes.

When they returned, they gleefully watched Morocco miss their penalty, and went on to score a 94th-minute winner.

In February, Moroccan courts sentenced 18 Senegalese supporters held in Morocco since the final to prison terms ranging from three months to a year for hooliganism.

Three were released from jail in mid-April after completing their three-month sentences.

Following that release, another 15 Senegalese fans remained incarcerated after receiving sentences ranging from six months to one year.

The royal pardon applied to those 15.

- Mending ties -

The episode has strained relations between Morocco and Senegal, countries with a history of friendly ties.

But Morocco's royal court said that in view "of the age-old fraternal ties" between the two countries "and on the occasion of the advent of Eid al-Adha", which will be celebrated on Wednesday in Morocco, the king had "granted, on humanitarian grounds, his royal pardon to the Senegalese supporters".

The Senegalese president had earlier welcomed the decision in a post on X.

"Our compatriots... are free. They will soon be reunited with their loved ones," Faye wrote.

He thanked King Mohammed VI for a decision "imbued with clemency and humanity".

According to the Moroccan public prosecutor's office, the charges against the 18 football supporters were based mainly on footage from cameras at Rabat's Moulay Abdellah Stadium, and on medical certificates for injured law enforcement officers and stewards.

Material damage from the violence was estimated at more than 370,000 euros (around $430,000).

At the end of January, the Confederation of African Football imposed disciplinary sanctions on both national federations for unsporting conduct and violations of the principles of fair play.

After the Confederation decided on March 17 to award the title to Morocco by administrative ruling, Senegal appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The two countries have a history of cooperation in sectors including tourism and energy, and share strong religious ties.

Senegalese make up the largest foreign community living in Morocco.

(A.Johnson--TAG)