Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published Friday, December 19, 2025 10:34 p.m. / Updated Friday, December 19, 2025 10:48 p.m.
The Malaysian national football team is going through an unpleasant moment. FIFA decided to award three 0-3 defeats “on the green table” after the world forum's Disciplinary Committee found that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had used naturalized players but with false documents in several international matches.
The decision was taken following the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (FDC) meeting on 12 December 2025, chaired by vice-president Jorge Palacio, and was officially confirmed by FAM on 17 December.
Three results overturned and turned into 0-3 failures
-
FIFA determined that the Malaysian FA had breached the FIFA Disciplinary Code and the results of three “Tier 1” level matches were overturned and recorded as 0-3 defeats on the “green table”:
-
Malaysia – Cape Verde 1-1 (May 29, 2025, Kuala Lumpur)
-
Malaysia – Singapore 2-1 (September 4, 2025, Bukit Jalil)
-
Malaysia – Palestine 1-0 (8 September 2025, Iskandar Puteri)
Seven players had false documents
The FIFA investigation targeted seven naturalized players, whose registration files allegedly contained falsified or invalid civil documents: Joao Figueiredo, Rodrigo Holgado, Gabriel Palmero, Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces, Jon Irazabal, Hector Hevel, according to e.vnexpress.net.
The Disciplinary Committee concluded that the use of these documents represents a serious violation of the principles of international football.
Huge fines and severe suspensions
The penalties imposed are unprecedented in Malaysia:
-
350,000 Swiss francs fine for the Football Federation of Malaysia
-
12 month suspension for each of the seven players
-
2,000 Swiss francs individual fine for each footballer
It is the harshest punishment ever meted out to Malaysian football.
The Malaysian FA will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
After the initial appeal to the FIFA Appeals Committee was rejected, FAM decided to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS/CAS) in Lausanne.
If FIFA's verdict is upheld by CAS, Malaysia faces further sanctions from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The most important could be the cancellation of the 4-0 win against Vietnam on June 10, 2025 in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. That match could be turned into a 0-3 defeat.
