Morocco as sore losers, by Patrick Omorodion

2026-02-22 - 00:46

In sports, you either win or lose. But in the spirit of Olympism, everybody is a winner. That is why it is said the joy of the Olympics is in participation. In football, to drive home the fact that winning is not everything, the world governing body, FIFA preaches Fair Play at all times. And it instituted a Fair Play Award for teams who conduct themselves both on and off the field of play. Sore losers are not encouraged in any aspect of the life of human beings because it could lead to serious consequences. Sore losers often display anger, frustration, or make excuses. This could lead them to take actions they may regret later. Examples of sore losers in the days of yore abound. One of them was Cain. We were told in the Bible that after God accepted his brother, Abel’s offering against his, he became furious, dejected, and ultimately murdered his brother because he couldn’t face the fact that he lost to his brother. Today, I will say that the people of Morocco are sore losers following the way they have handled issues resulting from the controversial 2025 AFCON final which they lost on home soil to Senegal last month. Both Senegal and Morocco were desperate to win. Both were gunning for their second AFCON title and therefore didn’t wait for the referee to interpret the rules the best way he could. Tempers flared, especially among the fans on the stands. The Senegalese fans who felt their team was being cheated confronted the security officials who tried to stop them from entering the pitch. In the process, they destroyed some seats in the stadium which they threw on the security operatives, allegedly injuring some of them in the process. Despite the altercations, the match which was temporarily halted, was restarted and Senegal won but had some of their supporters arrested. Days after, CAF came out with its ruling on the incident. It sanctioned the Federations of Senegal and Morocco, including the Senegalese coach, Pape Thiaw and captain of the Moroccan team, Achraf Hakimi. CAF handled the sporting side of the final, that is applying fines and match bans where necessary, well. However, it failed on the legal side by not collaborating with the Moroccan law enforcement on the prosecution of the supporters who were involved in the violence that wasn’t too serious or life-threatening. It is shocking that weeks after the supporters were detained in Morocco, they were finally sentenced to jail terms. News filtered in from Morocco on Thursday that a court sentenced 19 soccer fans to up to a year in prison on charges of hooliganism from the chaotic AFCON final. The report from Morocco had it that 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. A day after the court judgement, the Senegalese Football Federation reacted by denouncing the sentencing of their fans in Morocco as “incomprehensibly harsh”. Apart from the football Federation, other enthusiasts have added their voice to the court ruling, describing it as unsportsmanlike, threatening that one day, the Senegalese may retaliate the Moroccan’s action. Yao Tsahey reacted thus “when Senegal hosts the AFCON, then they can reciprocate that (the jail term) to the Moroccan fans. Time will tell”, while another fan, Jayden Wakhanya asked, “so the visit of Senegal’s Prime Minister ( Ousmane Sonko) made no significance?”. The fans’ protest during the disputed AFCON final which the Moroccans are still sulking over, it’s not a Senegalese thing alone as the north African country is making us believe. Months earlier in the same Rabat, precisely on May 3, 2025, a riot broke out after a game between Wydad Casablanca and AS FAR of Rabat which Wydad won 2-1. The magnitude of the AFCON protests by the Senegalese is a child’s play compared to what happened during the clásico between Wydad and FAR at the Mohammed V stadium. The security operatives were said to have arrested 17 fans which included five minors for the mayhem caused that day. Till today however, no news on what happened to the fans arrested. This is raising questions why the prosecution and sentencing of the arrested Senegalese fans which happened barely a month ago was so swift. One is not advocating that football fans or supporters should take laws into their hands but it is unfair to hound fans who came to cheer their team in an AFCON final into jail after fines have been handed out to their Federation and their coach who was also banned from some number of matches. That Senegal’s Prime Minister even visited the Moroccan authorities ostensibly to apologize for what happened and appeal on behalf of his country men and yet they were still thrown behind bars is a slap on Senegal and it does not promote African brotherhood. If the Moroccans were not guilty as well, CAF wouldn’t have handed them their own dosage of fines too. It is even shameful that Hakimi who was the face of Morocco at the tournament as well as the Ambassador of the game for CAF as the current African Footballer of the Year could be caught in a messy web of towel grabbing, an action that could also have incensed the Senegalese fans. Following the jail sentences handed down to the Senegalese fans, CAF needs to step in and appeal to the Moroccans to temper justice with mercy. This will not only help douse the claim by some people that it is being too soft on Morocco who are now seen as sore losers but also help to restore confidence in its competitions as well as prevent diplomatic and sporting disputes between the two countries. Let me use this opportunity to bid farewell to an avid reader of this Column, Pa Israel Ogbue who passed on at 99 on his birthday last Wednesday. Rest in peace, great man.