Malaysia issues urgent announcement after being penalized by AFC with a 0-3 loss to the Vietnamese national team.

The Secretary General of the Malaysian Football Association, Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, has not yet commented, while the national team is expected to release a statement after completing internal discussions today, March 18.

Malaysia's dream of qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup has ended after they faced consequences for using players who were not eligible to play for the national team.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee yesterday ruled that Malaysia used ineligible players in two matches in 2025, violating Article 56 of the organization's disciplinary and ethics code.

Malaysia's 2-0 victory over Nepal on March 25 at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, as well as their 4-0 win against the Vietnamese national team on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium, were both overturned to 0-3 losses according to Article 25.1.

With the latest ruling, Malaysia, which had previously won all matches in Group F, dropped to second place with 9 points and lost their chance to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese national team has risen to the top with 15 points. Even if Malaysia defeats the Vietnamese team in the final match in Nam Dinh on March 31, they will still trail Coach Kim Sang Sik's squad by 3 points.

Additionally, the Malaysian Football Association (FAM) was fined 50,000 USD (approximately 196,119 RM) and must pay within 30 days.

However, this decision has sparked controversy over AFC's inconsistency, as the same players are considered eligible for domestic club-level competitions.

Last week, the Malaysian Football League organizers confirmed that the registration of four naturalized players—Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Hector Hevel (Johor Darul Ta'zim), and Gabriel Palmero (Kuching City)—was compliant with the 2025–2026 season regulations.

AFC stated that the clubs fully met registration requirements and emphasized that penalties related to eligibility at the national team level do not apply to club-level football, even though these players are still banned by FIFA from official matches for 12 months.

These naturalized players have participated in several domestic matches, but the results of those matches were not annulled.

There are now questions raised as to why the penalty only applies at the international level.

"The contradiction lies in these players being eligible to play for clubs as Malaysians but not eligible for the national team.

Regulations should be applied uniformly," a source said.

FAM stated that they will request AFC to provide detailed written explanations before deciding on the next steps.

This ruling has undoubtedly caused disappointment within the Malaysian national team.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has not yet made a decision regarding the eligibility of three Johor Darul Ta'zim players for the Shopee ASEAN Club Championship.

Figueiredo, Irazabal, Hevel, Palmero, along with Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, and Imanol Machuca, were previously penalized for falsifying documents related to their eligibility.

Later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially accepted their appeal, allowing them to train and participate in football activities but still banning them from official matches.