PETALING JAYA: The AFC Asian Cup 2027 third-round qualifier between Malaysia and Vietnam will proceed despite the recent Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) verdict involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the national team, Harimau Malaya.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul sought to dispel speculation that the match would be cancelled should Malaysia be barred or suspended from playing official matches.
“The matches must go on. These are contractual and commercial matches that should not be cancelled unless natural disasters dictate otherwise,” he said.
“Both Vietnam and Malaysia have commercial obligations to fulfil. Matches are also vital for rankings - ‘cancellation’ is never a good word in football.”
Windsor also confirmed that the AFC disciplinary and ethics committee have begun their process following the CAS ruling.
“To inform the public, the committee will sit to make a final decision after receiving a formal response from FAM.
“We have identified the clauses within the regulations that were violated and have asked them to provide their response.
“The committee are ready to decide on this. We expect a result within seven to 10 days.
“The initial charging process is ongoing. We must give FAM time to respond, after which the committee will sit and make a decision based on that response and the evidence provided by FIFA.”
Last week, CAS partially upheld an appeal by seven footballers sanctioned for falsifying documents in an eligibility case involving FAM, ruling that their suspension will apply only to official matches.
In a decision issued in Lausanne on Thursday, CAS confirmed that the players will still serve a 12-month ban but amended the sanction imposed earlier by FIFA, allowing them to continue training and participating in other football-related activities with their clubs.
The seven players involved are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
However, a separate appeal by FAM was dismissed, meaning the governing body must still pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8mil).
