Vietnam must wait until 2026 to be awarded a win over Malaysia

Malaysia’s formal appeal to CAS has ended all possibilities of Vietnam being awarded a 3-0 win during 2025.

On the morning of December 8, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) confirmed it had officially submitted an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding FIFA’s sanction. This move immediately ruled out the chance for Vietnam to be credited with a 3-0 win in 2025, thereby ending hopes of securing early qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup as many fans had anticipated.

Previously, FIFA had sanctioned FAM and seven naturalized players due to irregularities in their international registration documents. Malaysia had appealed to FIFA but was rejected. Taking the case to CAS is considered the “final option”, turning the dispute into a lengthy and much more complicated legal process.

According to CAS procedures, the case cannot be resolved quickly. The arbitration court requires from one to three weeks to appoint the hearing panel, then an additional one to three months to hold the hearing once the documents are complete. The final verdict is usually issued one to three months after that.

Overall, the time from CAS receiving the case to delivering the final decision typically takes about five to six months. This means that any scenario involving overturning the match result between Vietnam and Malaysia in 2025 is practically unrealistic to expect.

In this context, the Vietnam national team must accept the hard reality: they cannot be awarded a 3-0 victory to qualify early for the 2027 Asian Cup. All final decisions depend on CAS’s ruling, after which the AFC will have the basis to enforce official sanctions on Malaysia.

The final qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup between Vietnam and Malaysia is scheduled for March 31, 2026. Given the current timeline, it is likely that CAS will not have announced its final decision by then, prolonging the wait in the race for qualification.

Related articles

OFFICIAL: Malaysia appeals, determined not to lose to Vietnam by default The Football Association of Malaysia will officially submit an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following FIFA’s sanction order. See more