PETALING JAYA: the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have penalised the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for fielding ineligible players for two 2027 Asian Cup qualifying matches.
Malaysia have been handed 0-3 defeats for both matches that they won during the qualifiers.
The decision were delivered by the AFC disciplinary and ethics committee following their meeting on Tuesday (March 17), as they found that the FA of Malaysia had violated Article 56 of the AFC disciplinary and ethics code.
The matches affected were Malaysia’s 2-0 win over Nepal at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on March 25, 2025, and the 4-0 victory against Vietnam at the National Stadium Bukit Jalil on June 10, 2025.
Both results have now been overturned, with Malaysia declared to have lost 0-3 in each match in accordance with Article 25.1 of the code.
In addition to the forfeited results, FAM have also been fined USD50,000 (RM196,119).
The players involved were Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
The ruling stems from the fielding of ineligible players, although further details are expected to be clarified once FAM receive the full written grounds of the decision.
FAM said they will formally request the detailed explanation from the AFC before determining their next course of action.
