AFCON Semi-Final: Supporters’ Club Alleges Police Harassment in Rabat

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Chairman of the Unified Supporters Club of Nigeria, Vincent Okumagba, has alleged that Nigerian fans were subjected to harassment and poor treatment by Moroccan police during Wednesday night’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final between Nigeria and host nation Morocco in Rabat.

The Super Eagles were eliminated after losing 4–2 on penalties, following a goalless 120 minutes at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. The defeat marked Nigeria’s second major penalty shootout loss on Moroccan soil in recent months, after a similar setback against DR Congo in a CAF playoff for the 2026 World Cup last November.

Speaking to the press on Thursday, Okumagba said members of the Supporters Club endured hours of difficulties despite arriving early at the stadium with valid match tickets.

“We got to the stadium as early as 5pm for a match scheduled for 9pm. For more than three hours, the stadium police were drilling us in the cold, pushing us from one gate to another,” he said.

According to him, the police insisted that Nigerian supporters could not sit together because their tickets carried different gate numbers and also demanded FAN IDs.

“They asked all manner of questions and insisted on FAN ID. I don’t understand why FAN ID was required when we all travelled to Morocco with valid visas and have been using our tickets to attend other matches,” Okumagba said.

He alleged that the situation worsened even after contacting a Nigerian official working with Moroccan police at the stadium.

“He came, but his explanations that members of the Supporters Club needed to sit together fell on deaf ears. They started pushing us, and before we knew it, thousands of Moroccan fans had occupied the seats allocated to us. It was hell in Rabat,” he said.

Okumagba claimed the actions of the police appeared aimed at disorganising Nigerian supporters and preventing them from cheering the Super Eagles as a united group.

“All the moves by the Moroccan police were to stop us from sitting together to beat our drums and blow our trumpets to ginger the Super Eagles,” he alleged.

Despite the complaints, he praised Moroccan fans for their passionate support of their national team, contrasting it with what he described as negative behaviour by some Nigerian fans during home matches.

“I won’t blame the Moroccans entirely because they demonstrated true support for their team, unlike what sometimes happens in Nigeria, where players are abused, or objects are thrown when results don’t go well,” he said.

Reacting to the match itself, Okumagba expressed disappointment over Nigeria’s penalty shootout failure, questioning the choice of kick takers.

“It was painful to lose on penalties again. I don’t understand the yardsticks for choosing defenders to take penalties when we had attackers. After surviving 120 minutes, I believed we would win,” he said.

He noted that Morocco missed their second penalty, but Nigeria failed to capitalise, similar to what happened against DR Congo last year.

“Even some Moroccans told me they were afraid when it went to penalties. But again, we couldn’t take advantage. It was really painful,” he added.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged as the hero of the match, saving spot-kicks from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi before Youssef En-Nesyri converted the decisive penalty to send the Atlas Lions into the final.

Short URL: https://www.africanexaminer.com/?p=105297