More than a week after the chaotic Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) convened its disciplinary committee, which could sanction the disturbances that marred the final match of the competition between Morocco and Senegal. In this context, several pieces of misinformation are circulating on social media, where the event continues to ignite passions: some claim that a Moroccan steward lost his life following clashes, while others falsely assert that the house of a Nigerian footballer was burned down after a missed penalty in the semi-final.

The AFCON final, won on January 18 by Senegal in the Moroccan capital Rabat, took place in an electric atmosphere (archived link here ).

Protests erupted after a penalty awarded to the Moroccan team late in the match, which the Senegalese deemed controversial. The Senegalese players, led by their coach Pape Thiaw, left the pitch in protest, while some fans clashed with stewards. The brawl, involving chairs and fans, shocked viewers worldwide.

A few days after the end of the competition, several pages and accounts on social media relayed a rumor that a Moroccan steward had been attacked during the event and had lost his life.

"URGENT! Injured in the jaw during clashes with supporters at the Senegal vs. Morocco final, the Moroccan steward who was in a coma has died. Afrikinform #Fairplay: This AFCON in Morocco is definitely leaving its mark (sic)," reads a Facebook post on January 20, 2026. The message is accompanied by an image showing five men carrying a person horizontally, with their eyes closed and hands covering their face.

These allegations are being spread by several other Facebook accounts, whose posts sometimes accumulate hundreds of comments, mainly expressing indignation and concern for the injured person (archived link here ).

To trace the origin of this image, we performed a reverse image search, which allowed us to find it on the websites of several French-language media outlets.

For example, in an article in the daily newspaper Ouest-France dedicated to the AFCON final, published on January 19, the caption for the photo, taken by an AFP photographer, reads: " A steward, injured, was evacuated during the Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal, on January 18 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. | PAUL ELLIS / AFP ".

In this article, the media outlet refers to information from the specialist website Foot Mercato, according to which " a steward was evacuated on a stretcher during the final of the 2025 AFCON between Morocco and Senegal, won by the Lions of Teranga (1-0). His jaw was torn off after being hit by a fan from the Senegalese supporters" (link archived here ).

However, no credible media outlet or official source has reported the death of this employee.

Moroccan police deny

In a statement dated January 20, 2026, relayed by the Maghreb Arab Press Agency, the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) of Morocco also firmly denied any rumors of the death of a steward linked to the AFCON final.

In this text, which was picked up by several Moroccan and international media outlets ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ), the DGSN assured that " no deaths have been recorded among private security agents, stewards or ball boys" .   specifying that this data was confirmed after verification with the various health establishments.

The security services also indicated that they had contacted the relevant judicial authorities in order to identify the authors of these misleading publications and to determine the legal responsibilities related to their dissemination.

As it stands, claiming that a steward lost his life after being injured during the AFCON is therefore a rumor, as no tangible evidence or reliable source seems to clearly confirm this death.

Following the violence at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat, Moroccan police arrested 18 Senegalese supporters and one Algerian supporter on Sunday, January 18, on suspicion of involvement in acts of hooliganism (archived link here ).

Targeted footballer

Another rumor, this time related to the AFCON semi-final, has also been widely circulating on social media in French-speaking Africa since January 17.

" Angry Nigerian youths set fire to Chukwueze's house after he missed a penalty against Morocco ," claim several posts shared hundreds of times, referring to Nigerian international footballer Samuel Chukwueze ( 1 , 2 , 3 ...).

During this match on January 14, Morocco beat Nigeria's Super Eagles after a penalty shootout, marked by saves from Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou on shots from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi.

To support these claims, the publications we are verifying highlight images of a building engulfed in flames.

To trace their origin, we performed a reverse image search using InVid-WeVerify software. This led us to a video uploaded to TikTok on January 15th and shared nearly 25,000 times since.

The image shows the burning house in front of which a group of about twenty people are gathered. The caption reads: " Breaking news: Angry Nigerian youths set fire to Chukwueze's house after his missed penalty against Morocco " (archived link here ).

Looking at this video more closely, we can identify a notice added by the TikTok platform at the bottom of the screen, stating: " Contains AI-generated media ".

We explored this possibility by analyzing the images using the Hive moderation artificial intelligence detection software. The result: according to this tool, this sequence appears to have been generated with a 92% probability using AI.

After scouring the pages of the main credible Nigerian media outlets, AFP also found no information reporting the fire at the player's house, neither on their website nor on those of international media specializing in sports news coverage.

When passion and tension collide around stadiums, misinformation runs rampant on social media, and the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco was no exception. AFP Factuel has already debunked several false claims related to the tournament, such as the alleged fire at Brahim Diaz 's home or the CAF's supposed ban of a Congolese supporter from the stadiums.