AFC issues penalty to Malaysian football

AFC continues to "blow the whistle" on the Malaysian Football Association with a heavy financial sanction for an unbelievable mistake involving the Nepal match

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has just received another penalty from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) following the match between Malaysia and Nepal in the Asian Cup qualifiers. Although the on-field result was not problematic, off-field mistakes have caused FAM to suffer significant financial losses.

According to AFC's announcement, FAM was fined $10,000 for failing to send the man of the match, Faisal Halim, to the post-match press conference as required. Additionally, the midfielder himself was also fined the same amount, demonstrating AFC's strict stance on media obligations violations.

This is considered a heavy penalty given the nature of the mistake. However, since the beginning of the year, FAM has repeatedly found itself in similar situations. AFC has issued decisions to penalize FAM no fewer than five times for administrative errors, causing the total accumulated fines to reach hundreds of thousands of USD.

Moreover, just before the above penalty, FAM was fined an additional $2,500 for allowing the second half of the Malaysia vs. Nepal match to start 1 minute and 30 seconds late compared to the scheduled time. AFC also warned that fines would increase if this issue recurs. In a short period, FAM has been fined $12,500 (about 330 million VND) by AFC due to errors in the match against Nepal.

Amid continuous sanctions for off-field mistakes, Malaysian and Vietnamese fans are still awaiting AFC's decision regarding the case of naturalized players in the Malaysian national team who are alleged to be in violation of current regulations.

Currently, AFC stated it is awaiting the final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after FAM filed an appeal. AFC Secretary General Windsor John confirmed that the deadline for the organization to issue an official conclusion is March 31, 2026, before any further disciplinary actions are taken.

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