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Reuters

Agence France-Presse

Malaysia have been knocked out of contention ⁠for the 2027 ⁠Asian Cup after the ⁠Asian Football Confederation (AFC) overturned their qualifying wins over Nepal and Vietnam, saying the national team fielded players who were not eligible to represent the country.
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 AFC said.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) was also fined US$50,000 to be ⁠paid within 30 days.
The FAM said on its website it would request ‌the reasons for the decision from the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee and then consider its next steps.

The ruling on Tuesday converted both matches into 3-0 forfeits for Malaysia, leaving them six points behind Vietnam at the top of Group F and removing any mathematical possibility of advancing.
There is one more round of matches, pitting Vietnam against Malaysia on March 31, in what is now a dead rubber.
“Although the match no longer holds decisive significance for the final group standings, it is still expected to be a noteworthy contest,” Vietnam’s football federation said in a statement.
The sanctions from the continent’s football governing body came in the wake of the Court ‌of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upholding the sanctions laid down ⁠by Fifa ⁠on the seven footballers who played for Malaysia using falsified naturalisation documents, ruling they ‌would serve a 12-month suspension from official matches only.
The CAS also upheld Fifa’s US$444,275 ‌fine on ‌the Football Association of Malaysia.
Deportivo Alaves’ Facundo Garces was among seven ‌players banned for a year by Fifa in September, after the football governing body found that doctored documentation had been used so that ⁠the players could play in an Asian Cup qualifier for Malaysia against Vietnam.
The other players were Gabriel Arrocha (Unionistas de Salamanca), ‌Rodrigo Holgado (America de ‌Cali), Imanol Machuca (Velez Sarsfield), Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel (all Johor Darul Ta’zim).


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Sport

Football

Malaysia punished for fielding ineligible players; wins over Nepal and Vietnam converted into 3-0 forfeits


Malaysia punished for fielding ineligible players; wins over Nepal and Vietnam converted into 3-0 forfeits.


Malaysia out of Asian Cup race after AFC overturns wins, hands down US$50,000 fine

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Malaysia punished for fielding ineligible players; wins over Nepal and Vietnam converted into 3-0 forfeits

Malaysia punished for fielding ineligible players; wins over Nepal and Vietnam converted into 3-0 forfeits