Ineligible Players Cost Malaysia 2027 AFC Asian Cup Spot, Vietnam Through

Last Updated:March 17, 2026, 14:23 IST

Malaysia's 2027 Asian Cup hopes end after 3-0 forfeits for fielding ineligible footballers. Vietnam advances with an unassailable lead.

Malaysia’s 2027 Asian Cup aspirations have ended after receiving 3-0 forfeits in two qualifiers for fielding ineligible footballers, the regional football body announced on Tuesday, permitting Vietnam to advance instead.

This development marks the latest, and potentially final, chapter in a scandal involving seven foreign-born players who used forged documents to represent Malaysia’s national team.

“The defendant fielded ineligible players in the relevant AFC Asian Cup 2027 (Qualifiers Final Round) matches," stated the Asian Football Confederation.

The decision gives Vietnam an unassailable six-point lead in their qualifying group for the 2027 tournament in Saudi Arabia.

One round of matches remains, with Vietnam scheduled to face Malaysia on March 31 in what is now a dead-rubber match.

In September, FIFA launched an investigation into allegations that ineligible players participated in a 4-0 win against Vietnam in a June qualifier last year. That result, and a 2-0 victory against Nepal in March last year, have now both been overturned.

The world governing body found that the player’s naturalisations were based on “forged documents" and that none of the players had Malaysian parentage or ancestry.

FIFA suspended the players and imposed fines exceeding $448,000 on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

The FAM and the players then appealed to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

At the beginning of the month, CAS slightly reduced the sanctions against the seven players. It ruled that they could resume training with their clubs and participate in football-related activities, but their one-year ban from official matches, backdated to September, remains in place.

FIFA found that three of the players were originally Argentine, two were Spanish, one was Dutch, and one was Brazilian.

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

(With AFP Inputs)

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