Malaysian football faces a severe penalty from FIFA, with youth and women's teams also at risk?

As per expert Christopher Raj, the controversy over unlawful citizenship could result in an all-encompassing FIFA ban on Malaysian football, impacting the youth teams and the women's side as well.

Malaysian football is undergoing its most devastating crisis in history as the scandal involving forged documents for seven naturalized players has been uncovered. This is considered the "last straw" following years of ongoing issues such as match-fixing and on-field violence.

In this dire situation, Datuk Christopher Raj, former executive committee member of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), has expressed grim predictions for the future of the nation's football. He affirmed that an "extremely severe" sanction from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is looming and could trigger a domino effect causing the collapse of the entire national football ecosystem.

According to Christopher Raj, if FIFA officially imposes penalties, the disaster will extend beyond the men's national team to directly affect youth teams and women's football.

"This ban would apply to the entire national football ecosystem, including youth squads and the women's team. It would be catastrophic if FAM were suspended because it means none of the teams could participate in international competitions,"the expert emphasized. This implies that Malaysian football could become completely "isolated" from the global stage, wasting years of training and development efforts.

In this context, intervention by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is seen as the last lifeline. A team of experts led by AFC Deputy Secretary-General Vahid Kardany has begun assessing and restructuring FAM.

Christopher Raj likened AFC's actions to a "father trying to save his son from a harsher punishment". The collective resignation of the entire FAM executive committee last week is considered a correct move to pave the way for AFC's takeover, demonstrating to FIFA that Malaysia is genuinely striving to rectify the situation.

However, the expert also issued a stern warning that FAM must strictly adhere to reform proposals. If it continues to lack transparency or fails to meet AFC's standards, Malaysian football will certainly face a bitter outcome.

"If FAM does not comply with AFC's advice, then you have the right to be suspended from competition,"Raj declared. Currently, Malaysian fans are holding their breath awaiting the verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). If the situation cannot be reversed, the prospect of losing to Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers might only be the beginning of a prolonged dark chapter for the country.