KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- The national football team have been declared to have lost 3-0 to Nepal and Vietnam in two matches of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers last year for fielding ineligible players.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a statement, said the decision was made by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee at a meeting held today.
FAM said it was found to have breached Article 56 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code for fielding ineligible players in the match against Nepal on March 25 last year, which Malaysia won 2-0, and against Vietnam on June 10 last year (Malaysia won 4-0).
“Accordingly, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee has decided that Malaysia are declared to have lost both matches 3-0 in accordance with Article 25.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code,” said FAM, which has also been fined USD50,000 (RM196,119) for the offence.
FAM said it will submit a written request to obtain the grounds of the decision from the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee before considering the next course of action regarding the matter.
Following the penalty, Harimau Malaya have accumulated only nine points in the qualifiers and risk losing their spot in the 2027 Asian Cup.
Before the decision, Malaysia led the group with 15 points, followed by Vietnam with 12, Laos with three, and Nepal without any points.
Even if Malaysia defeat Vietnam in the final group match on March 31, it would still not be enough for the national squad to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, as they would only have 12 points, while Vietnam would top the group with 15.
The AFC had opened an investigation into FAM over alleged document falsification involving seven heritage players, who had earlier been suspended by FIFA in September over the same allegations.
The seven players are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
-- BERNAMA
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