Tensions Rise as Rivalry Between Senegal and Morocco Comes to a Head Amid AFCON Championship Controversy

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Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco.

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Now the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides.

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On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked.

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“The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident told AFP.

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CAF stripped Senegal of its title on March 17, over the team’s angry departure from the pitch after a penalty was awarded to Morocco late in second-half stoppage time.

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In a photo the following day, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was seen in his office with the trophy behind him.

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Senegal has lodged an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the matter and some fans have meanwhile called for a boycott of Moroccan goods.

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On March 18, Dakar called for an international investigation into “allegations of corruption within the CAF leadership” in a statement that sent a chill through Morocco.

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“An official (Senegalese) document mentioned corruption. It insinuates that Morocco is the corrupting influence without of course any evidence and this could have repercussions,” Morocco’s Aziz Daouda, a track and field official and former athlete, told AFP.

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He added that “comments made by certain Senegalese football officials are damaging relations” between the two countries, referring to allegations that Morocco controls CAF.

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– ‘Hostages’ of Morocco –

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One of Senegal’s points of contention is the detention of 18 Senegalese football fans in Morocco for more than two months now.

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They were sentenced on February 19 to prison terms ranging from three months to a year for hooliganism.

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Minutes before the end of the match, some Senegalese supporters attempted to storm the pitch while Senegal’s players halted the game for nearly 20 minutes in protest of the late penalty to Morocco.

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The appeal hearing for the 18 fans was postponed for a second time on Monday until April 13.

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Dozens of demonstrators in Dakar called for their release at the end of February, describing them as “hostages” of Morocco.

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“One gets the impression that this affair goes beyond the realm of sport and that is regrettable. For two countries that claim to be friends, such as Morocco and Senegal, things should not have come to this,” Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said in late February, lamenting the supporters’ convictions.

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That said, Morocco’s relationship with Senegal is “unique, specific and extraordinary”, Senegal’s Director of Religious Affairs Djim Ousmane Drame said in a recent article.

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“Morocco has always been the only (African) country with which diplomatic relations with Senegal are based on an emotional bond and popular appeal, beyond the institutions and bilateral ties,” Bakary Sambe of the Timbuktu Institute think tank told AFP.

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Fez, for example, is a favourite destination for many Senegalese Muslim followers of Tidianism, an influential brotherhood in Senegal whose founder, Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane, is buried there.

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Moroccan authorities meanwhile made no comment and “preferred not to get involved in this football affair” following the CAF decision, Daouda said.

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– Business, diplomacy partners –

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In late January in Rabat, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch spoke of a “natural, lasting” relationship with Senegal where he said Morocco has invested more than $540 million.

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Many Moroccan companies operate in Senegal, particularly in the food, pharmaceutical, energy, construction, mining, banking and insurance sectors.

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On the international stage, the two countries’ diplomatic views are generally aligned.

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Senegalese nationals constitute the largest group of foreign residents in the kingdom (18.4 percent), according to official figures, and a robust student exchange also exists between the two countries.

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“There are many of us on both sides trying to calm down all those hotheads from both camps who enjoy spreading irresponsible claims, lots of ‘fake news’ and plenty of insults,” Daouda said.

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Former Senegalese foreign minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio wrote in early February that “a hundred minutes of football will never be able to ruin a thousand years of close ties between Senegal and Morocco”.

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