Malaysia’s national football team forfeits two Asian Cup qualifier wins, losing 3-0 to Nepal and Vietnam and receiving a fine for fielding ineligible players.

THE national football team, Harimau Malaya, has been handed 3-0 defeats for two of its 2027 Asian Cup qualifying victories after being found guilty of fielding ineligible players.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee made the ruling today, as confirmed by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in a statement.

FAM was deemed to have breached Article 56 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code by using ineligible players in a 2-0 win over Nepal on March 25 last year and a 4-0 victory against Vietnam on June 10 last year.

Consequently, the AFC committee declared both matches forfeited with a 3-0 scoreline against Malaysia in accordance with its disciplinary code.

The national football governing body has also been fined USD50,000, equivalent to approximately RM196,119, for the offence.

FAM stated it will request the detailed grounds for the decision from the AFC before considering its next course of action.

This penalty drastically alters the Group G standings, reducing Malaysia’s points tally from 15 to just nine and severely jeopardising its qualification hopes for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Vietnam now leads the group with 12 points, followed by Malaysia with nine, Laos with three, and Nepal with zero points.

Even a victory for Malaysia in its final group match against Vietnam on March 31 would be insufficient for qualification, as it would only bring its total to 12 points, leaving Vietnam top with 15.

The AFC investigation follows a prior FIFA suspension in September of seven heritage players over allegations of document falsification.

The players involved are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

 The Sun Malaysia