AFC officially speaks out, set to rule a forfeit loss for Malaysia

The AFC Secretary General stated that they have received the CAS decision and will soon issue a final ruling on the penalty for Malaysia.

After being the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Court of Arbitration for Sport) rejected the appeal, the last hope for Malaysian football to overturn the situation with FIFA has officially ended. This means the fate of the Malaysian national team in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers now rests entirely on the decision from AFC

AFC Secretary General, Windsor Paul John, stated that the organization has received the conclusion from CAS and immediately forwarded the entire case file to the Disciplinary Committee for further processing steps. However, AFC declined to comment in detail on the investigation process or the potential actions the Disciplinary Committee might take in the coming period.

According to the New Straits Times, the latest response from AFC indicates that the future of Malaysian football, particularly the national team's 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign, will depend entirely on the final verdict from the AFC Disciplinary Committee.

Previously, Mr. Windsor Paul mentioned that AFC was closely monitoring developments from CAS after Malaysia filed its appeal. If the appeal was rejected, AFC would formally step in to review the matches where Malaysia fielded 7 naturalized players during the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. At that point, it would be AFC—not FIFA—making the decision on whether Malaysia would be handed forfeit losses in their matches against Vietnam and Nepal.

According to FIFA and AFC regulations, a team fielding ineligible players will be handed a 0-3 forfeit loss. Prior to submitting the appeal to CAS, Malaysia had been handed 0-3 forfeit losses by FIFA in friendly matches against Cape Verde, Palestine, and Singapore for violating player eligibility rules.

If AFC decides to impose forfeit losses for two more qualifying matches, Malaysia will have almost no chance left to compete for a spot in the 2027 Asian Cup. Even if they escape this penalty, they would still enter the crucial match against Vietnam with a certain advantage. However, the 7 naturalized players must still serve a 12-month playing ban, only permitted to train during their suspension period according to the new adjustment from the CAS ruling.

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