Southeast Asian fans erupt as FIFA sanctions Malaysia for illegal naturalization in victory over Vietnam national team

Many Southeast Asian fans expressed their views after Malaysia was sanctioned by FIFA for using 7 unlawfully naturalized players in the match against Vietnam's national team.

The Malaysian national team included 7 naturalized players who violated eligibility rules in their 4-0 triumph over Vietnam at the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers. FIFA's Disciplinary Committee has issued penalties against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the 7 players for breaching Article 22 of FIFA's Disciplinary Code related to falsification and forgery of registration documents.

Immediately, many Southeast Asian fans actively shared their opinions on social media regarding this issue. Most comments showed dissatisfaction with Malaysia’s deliberate illegal naturalization and questioned how the match result against Vietnam would be handled.

One fan commented: "Did they use these players in the 4-0 victory over Vietnam? If any of these players participated, how will the match outcome be reviewed?"

Another fan from Indonesia said:"From the start, it seemed suspicious. Malaysia suddenly had diaspora players from Argentina and South America. It appears impossible to rule out document forgery regarding the players’ heritage. However, nothing can be hidden."

Meanwhile, some opinions expressed no surprise over FIFA's punishment: "Whether this is true still needs time to confirm. However, I am not shocked at all. There were already many suspicious signs before."

One fan compared Indonesia and Malaysia, noting that both national teams pursue player naturalization policies: "This happened because of rushing the naturalization process without considering the circumstances. FIFA's naturalization procedures must be clear and transparent. Malaysia did not follow the same process as Indonesian-origin players, whose backgrounds are always fully clear."

This information has truly shaken Southeast Asian football as Malaysia has made significant progress recently thanks to their naturalization policy. These 7 players also played a major role in Malaysia’s overwhelming 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The 7 illegally naturalized players include Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano. They all took part in the match between Malaysia and Vietnam at the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers held on June 10, 2025, at Bukit Jalil Stadium.