Under those regulations, FAM and the players involved may face financial penalties under Article 56, while Malaysia could be handed 3-0 forfeits in matches against Vietnam and Nepal under Article 25. Those matches were played during the first leg of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, when the team fielded players linked to the illegal naturalization case. “The situations of Malaysia and Timor-Leste are similar in that both involve falsified naturalization documents, but the contexts are different,” Windsor John explained. “The Timor-Leste case was discovered after the competition had already finished, which is why they were banned from the next tournament. However, if the AFC Disciplinary Committee confirms the sanctions based on Articles 25 and 56, Malaysia would lose six points and drop to nine.

Source: VietNamNet News March 16, 2026 07:56 UTC