Unprecedented decision sees former Wolves star Romain Saiss become AFCON winner

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Former Wolves defender Romain Saiss is officially now an AFCON winner, after CAF overturned the result of the final between Senegal and Morocco.

The 2026 AFCON final between Senegal and Morocco back in January was supposed to be a showcase of two top African nations.

But the contest was marred, when Senegal players – instructed by their manager Pape Thiaw – left the field of play after referee Jean Jacques Ndala didn’t award them a penalty, before then giving one to Morocco.

Brahim Diaz missed the penalty after Senegal players returned to the pitch, and Senegal went on to win the game in extra-time.

But last night, Senegal were sensationally stripped of their title, with Morocco being declared the champions.

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Morocco declared AFCON champions as Romain Saiss wins first title

A CAF statement read: “The Caf appeal board decided that in application of article 84 of the regulations of the Caf Africa Cup of Nations, the Senegal national team is declared to have forfeited the final match of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with the result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football.

“It is declared that the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football, through the conduct of its team, infringed article 82 of the regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations.”

It is an unprecedented moment, and one that does little to help the view of the AFCON tournament.

But it’s joy for Morocco and former Wolves defender Romain Saiss, who has been a long-serving player of the national team.

Since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Saiss – a former Old Gold cult hero – has not been as prominent, with a bad ankle injury costing him certain caps.

But he was a part of Morocco’s squad at AFCON, making one appearance at the tournament before injury hit again. That sole appearance came against Comoros.

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Wolves’ previous associations with AFCON

With this decision, Saiss becomes the second former player to win AFCON after leaving Wolves after Adlene Guedioura, who won with Algeria in 2019.

But Wolves did actually also have one player to win AFCON while they were still at Molineux.

And that player was Mark Williams, who scored a brace for South Africa against Tunisia in the 1996 final.

He made 12 appearances for Wolves, and left the club in 1996 to join Brazilian club Corinthians