Vietnam’s center-back Do Duy Manh (L) and ineligible Malaysia naturalized player Rodrigo Holgado in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, at Bukit Jalil Stadium, Malaysia, on June 10, 2025. Photo by Malaysia NT |
The AFC on Tuesday handed Malaysia 0-3 forfeit defeats for fielding ineligible players in their two wins against Nepal (2-0) and Vietnam (4-0) last year. Both matches were part of Group F in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. This decision follows rulings from FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which confirmed that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) used forged documents to naturalize seven foreign-born players.
Malaysia’s two forfeited losses changed the standings in Group F of the qualifiers. Dropping from the top spot, Malaysia are now in second place with 9 points, trailing Vietnam by 6 points, and officially lost their chance to qualify for the Asian Cup. Their final Group F match on March 31 against Vietnam, now qualified, is just a formality now.
Malaysian television channel Astro Arena reported on the situation with a touch of sarcasm, commenting that Malaysian football is celebrating Eid al-Fitr Ftir by saying goodbye to the 2027 Asian Cup. Eid al-Fitr is one of the most important holidays for Muslims worldwide, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Before the official penalty was announced, there were doubts regarding whether the AFC would go easy on Malaysia due to the special relationship between the two sides. Malaysia hosts the headquarters of the AFC and is a founding member with considerable influence. The current AFC secretary general, Windsor Paul John, is a Malaysian citizen.
“The AFC showed no leniency,” Thai newspaper Siam Sports wrote. “Malaysia could not avoid two forfeited losses, and Vietnam were fortunate enough to advance.”
“The unfavorable ruling for Malaysia helped Vietnam overcome a difficult situation,” Thai outlet Daily News commented. “The AFC played fair. Their ruling followed the regulations.”
ESPN Singapore said that Malaysia only have themselves to blame.
“They will be extremely disappointed that they couldn’t qualify for the Asian Cup for the second consecutive time. The door was wide open when they only needed to avoid a four-goal defeat against Vietnam on March 31. But now, it’s all over,” the newspaper wrote.
In South Korea, the newspaper Osen closely followed the developments related to their compatriot, Vietnam national head coach Kim Sang-sik. The newspaper assessed the AFC’s decision as an inevitable outcome, which effectively eased the pressure on coach Kim.
“The heavy defeat against Malaysia had put coach Kim Sang-sik under pressure and even led to calls for his resignation, but public opinion changed when the scandal was exposed,” it wrote. “Malaysia also faces the possibility of being banned from international competition for a period of time, similar to Indonesia, Timor Leste, Brunei and Kuwait. It all depends on FIFA’s next move.”
The scandal began in September 2025 when the FIFA Disciplinary Committee determined that Malaysia had violated the core principles of international football by using invalid naturalization documents to register seven foreign players: Joao Figueiredo of Brazilian origin, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Facundo Garces of Argentina, Jon Irazabal and Gabriel Palmero of Spain, and Hector Hevel of the Netherlands.
FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (US$440,500). Each player involved was banned from official matches for 12 months and fined 2,000 francs.
In December 2025, FIFA further penalized Malaysia with 0-3 forfeit defeats in friendly matches against Cape Verde, Singapore and Palestine for using the same group of ineligible naturalized players. FAM was slapped with an additional 10,000 Swiss franc fine.
The association appealed the rulings to both the FIFA Appeals Committee and CAS, but ultimately failed.
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