AFC forfeits Harimau Malaya's two wins in Asian Cup qualifiers

LocalFootball
17 Mar 2026 • 5:39 PM MYT
The Vibes
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HARIMAU Malaya's two wins, over Nepal and Vietnam respectively, in last year's Asian Cup qualifiers were forfeited, thus seeing the national squad lose six points.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced that this was following the decision of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Disciplinary and Ethics Committee, which met on Tuesday, regarding the case of fielding ineligible players.

"The meeting, chaired by the Chairman of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee, Jahangir Baglari, found that FAM had violated Article 56 of the AFC Disciplinary & Ethics Code by fielding ineligible players in the two 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

"In this regard, the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee has decided that Malaysia is declared to have lost by a score of 0-3 in both matches based on Article 25.1 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code.

"In addition, FAM was also fined US$50,000 (RM196,119)," he said.

FAM will send a written application to obtain the reasons for the decision from the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee before considering the next step.

With the six-point deduction, the national squad is now ineligible for the 2027 Asian Cup. – March 17, 2026