AFC delivers very good news to Vietnam’s national team regarding Malaysia’s illegal naturalization case.

The scandal involving allegations of "document forgery" in Malaysian football’s naturalization process has revealed a new significant detail, which is encouraging for Vietnam’s national team in their bid for the 2027 Asian Cup.

According to Malaysian media, Windsor Paul John, the Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), stated The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in their submission to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) mainly requested a reduction or lifting of sanctions for 7 players, rather than challenging the entire case.

"From what we understand, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) only requested a reduction of penalties for 7 players," reported Malaysia’s Stadium Astro quoting the latest statement from AFC Secretary General Windsor John.

This statement from Mr. Windsor serves as a justification for his previous controversial comment made a few days ago. The AFC Secretary had said "FAM has a 50-50 chance to overturn the situation," explaining why FAM might win. This comment received much criticism from regional football fans, especially since he is Malaysian himself.

Malaysia’s Metro Harian later commented that, given his position, AFC should responsibly investigate the masterminds behind FAM’s illegal naturalization scheme. Apparently aware of the misunderstanding caused by his earlier remarks, Mr. Windsor has now issued a clarification.

"According to the information we have, FAM only requested that 7 of their players be allowed to return to play if they win the case at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This means these 7 players are not directly involved in the misconduct FIFA accused in the illegal naturalization case,"said Mr. Windsor John.

What the AFC Secretary General revealed aligns with media assessments after CAS unexpectedly suspended the FIFA-imposed bans on the 7 illegally naturalized Malaysian players. Regional media, including Malaysian outlets, speculate that FAM has changed its appeal strategy. They no longer insist on innocence but focus on reducing or clearing the sanctions for these 7 players.

This implies that even if CAS rules in favor of Malaysia at the end of February, FAM will still face penalties for illegal player naturalization. This outcome will almost certainly lead to AFC ruling Malaysia’s match against Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers as a loss.

The final decision is expected to be announced on February 26, 2026, amid a situation that could directly affect the standings in Group F and the race for qualification to the 2027 Asian Cup.