American Newspaper Reacts to Malaysia's Loss in FIFA Lawsuit Over Illegal Naturalization

The American AP issued a reaction after the Court of Arbitration for Sport delivered the final ruling in the legal dispute between the Football Association of Malaysia and FIFA.

On the afternoon of March 5th, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced the dismissal of the appeal filed by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) regarding allegations of using forged documents for naturalization seven players. CAS decided to uphold the penalties previously imposed on FAM and the aforementioned seven players, while leaving it to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to review and make a final decision regarding the matches in which these players participated.

Not only attracting attention from regional fans and media, the case was also mentioned by the American AP . In an article titled "Malaysia Fails in Appeal Against FIFA Over Use of Fake Documents to Recruit Foreign Players", the newspaper reiterated the penalties FIFA imposed on FAM and the seven naturalized players, and suggested that AFC should award losses for Malaysia's matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers where these players were involved.

AP wrote: "FAM has failed in its appeal to challenge FIFA's ruling, which concluded they committed fraud by using invalid documents to naturalize foreign-born players for the national team.

CAS stated its panel of judges upheld the penalty of 350,000 Swiss francs (approximately $450,000) against FAM, along with a one-year playing ban for the seven players due to their shared responsibility in the fraudulent act.

These players were issued Malaysian passports and were called up to play in the 4-0 victory over Vietnam last June, a match in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. That victory should be annulled by the AFC."

The newspaper added: "According to the court, FAM also acknowledged systemic shortcomings in its management process and did not deny the possibility of being held responsible for violating FIFA's disciplinary regulations.

CAS stated the federation also emphasized that the players played only a limited role in providing the required documents. They were not the ones who prepared or altered the related materials."

Seven months after FIFA brought charges against FAM and the seven naturalized players, the case is likely nearing its conclusion. The final disciplinary decision is expected to be issued by AFC in the near future. Accordingly, the Malaysian national team could be handed 0-3 losses for two matches in Group F of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam.

If this scenario occurs, the group standings would certainly change significantly. In that case, the Vietnamese national team would rise to the top of the group and secure a spot in the 2027 Asian Cup, the premier football tournament in Asia scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia.