The AFC gave up two games for lining up seven ineligible players who used false documents to play, including three Argentines, and will miss the next edition of the tournament
The episode of fraudulent nationalizations of players in the Malaysian national team added a new episode. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) gave up its games against Nepal and Vietnam for having lined up ineligible players and was eliminated from the qualifiers for the
2027 Asian Cup.
The organization's Discipline and Ethics Committee decided to transform the Malaysian victories (2-0 against Nepal and 4-0 against Vietnam) into 3-0 losses, leaving the team with no mathematical chance of qualifying for the continental tournament. In addition, a fine of $50,000 was imposed and must be paid within 30 days.
The sanction stems from the scandal over the falsification of documents in the process of nationalizing seven players, including Argentines Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado and Imanol Machuca. As determined, the federation presented adulterated certificates to prove alleged family ties with Malaysia, a necessary condition to
represent the selected one. Machuca, Garcés and Holgado were part of the scandal
The case had already been analyzed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS), which confirmed the violation and sanctioned the players with one year without being able to play official games, although it allowed them to continue training with their clubs. It also ratified FIFA's previous fine against the federation, which amounts to 350,000
Swiss francs.
The Malaysian Football Federation recognized “institutional deficiencies” in the nationalization processes and anticipated that they will request the full grounds for the ruling to define the steps to follow.
The sporting impact is significant, as Malaysia lost the possibility of returning to the final phase of the Asian Cup after 16 years, in a context in which it needed to score just one point in its next match to secure qualification.
The scandal, which also led to the resignation of the federation's leadership, highlights the seriousness of the irregularities and their consequences, both sporting and institutional.
