The Moroccan steward injured in the clashes against Senegalese supporters in the CAN final is not dead

A clear denial. This Tuesday, January 20, the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) published a press release refuting the rumors widely relayed on social networks reporting the death of a Moroccan steward after the incidents which marred the CAN 2025 final between Senegal and Morocco (1-0 ap).

As a reminder, while chaos broke out on the pitch after the penalty awarded to Brahim Diaz at the end of added time, the situation also degenerated in the stands of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Indeed, certain Senegalese supporters belonging to the “Touzième Gaïndé” group entered the pitch to fight with the stewards. The scene, involving hitting chairs and fans, shocked spectators around the world.

However, no person lost their life on Sunday evening during the final, contrary to the statements of several independent media and influential accounts on social networks for two days. According to the Moroccan DGSN, which categorically denies the rumor of the “presumed death” of a steward, “no death has been recorded among private security agents, nor among ball boys”. “No procedure for establishing the remains of a person deceased in connection with events linked to hooliganism has been carried out,” specifies the government agency.

Procedures launched to identify the authors of “fake news”

The latter took the opportunity to cut short a second “fake news” spread via “digital content published by Senegalese sites and accounts”, which claimed “that a Senegalese citizen was allegedly attacked with a knife after the final of the African Cup of Nations, leading to his death”.

For several days, influential Moroccan and Senegalese accounts have been engaged in a fierce battle on social networks in a deleterious climate following the stormy conclusion of the CAN final. The DGSN has also decided to launch legal procedures to identify the people involved in the dissemination of this false information and to apply the sanctions provided for by law, calling on the citizens of the Shereef Kingdom to be vigilant in the face of the propagation of unverified information.

Note that the only death recorded on the sidelines of the final “concerns the discovery of the body of an unidentified person, originally from sub-Saharan Africa, in the town of Salé (north of Rabat)”, added the agency in its press release. The latter could be linked to an attack by stray dogs and therefore has, in theory, no proven link with the final of the continental competition.