Malaysia hit with 3-0 forfeits to send Vietnam to Asian Cup
    
KUALA LUMPUR, March 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Malaysia's 2027 Asian Cup hopes are over after the country was hit with 3-0 forfeits in two qualifiers for fielding ineligible players, the regional football body said Tuesday, sending Vietnam through instead.

It was the latest and possibly final chapter in a long-running scandal over seven foreign-born players who used forged documents to play for Malaysia's national team.

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

The verdict leaves Vietnam with an unassailable six-point lead in their qualifying group for Saudi Arabia in 2027.

There is one more round of matches, pitting Vietnam against Malaysia on March 31 in what is now a dead-rubber.

FIFA in September launched a probe into claims that ineligible players featured in a 4-0 win over Vietnam in a qualifier in June 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 naturalisations were obtained "using falsified documents" and that none had Malaysian parentage or ancestry.

FIFA suspended the players and slapped more than $448,000 in fines on the Football Association of Malaysia.

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

CAS at the beginning of the month slightly reduced sanctions against the seven players.

It ruled that they may resume training with their clubs and participate in football-related activities, though their one-year ban from official matches -- backdated to September -- remains in force.

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

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