Malaysian fans react strongly after their team is handed a 0-3 loss by FIFA

Malaysian fans showed intense backlash following FIFA's decision to forfeit three international matches 0-3 against their team for using unqualified players, triggering a wave of condemnation towards FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has recently been sanctioned by FIFA's Disciplinary Committee regarding the use of ineligible players. The ruling was made during the meeting on December 12, 2025, chaired by FIFA Disciplinary Committee Vice President Jorge Palacio.

According to the findings, FAM violated Article 19 of the 2025 FIFA Disciplinary Code by fielding ineligible players in three top-level international matches. These included the 1-1 draw against Cape Verde on May 29 in Kuala Lumpur, the 2-1 win over Singapore on September 4 at Bukit Jalil, and the 1-0 victory against Palestine on September 8 in Johor.

As a result, FIFA declared Malaysia lost 0-3 in all three matches and fined FAM 10,000 CHF. FAM stated it will submit a letter requesting FIFA to clarify the basis of the decision before considering further actions.

In response to the news, Malaysian fans united in their comments: a fan named Din Hawkmokiter wrote in frustration:

“I even want to see FIFA ban the Malaysian domestic league for 3 to 5 years. Anyone can criticize if they want. For me, this is the time to restart and completely restructure all existing competitions. The domestic league now seems controlled by a single hand. Referees are like pre-trained livestock, fed, cleaned after, led around, and never ‘punished’ during holidays.

Malaysian football would be much more exciting if each team could only field 3 foreign players on the pitch, making room for local players. Registering 10 foreign players for the AFC Champions League is fine, but 3 foreigners on the field is the most reasonable. Just look at the current attendance compared to the era when only 3 foreigners were allowed, when team strengths were quite balanced and finals changed every year.

Let MFL dissolve itself instead of continuing to manage the league alongside an FAM that clearly only listens. Sponsors are no longer keen to invest in football because it doesn't yield sufficient returns and the league is becoming less attractive. Who would invest money without clear returns?”

Fan Nabil K. Saleh wrote: “Players playing is meaningless. Fans coming to the stadium is meaningless…”

Supporter Syam Along commented: “Luckily it’s only a friendly match penalty, not Asian Cup qualifiers, so the ranking points are not heavily affected.”

Fan Hariz Manan believes: <*!>“No more begging, just read the decision once to understand what FIFA said, no need to waste time on useless matters.”

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Football Association is still appealing to CAS over the use of naturalized players in two matches at

the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal and Vietnam. No official sanctions have been issued yet in this case.

This is because the Asian Cup qualifiers fall under AFC’s jurisdiction. The Asian Football Confederation will issue a final ruling after receiving the full decision from FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). However, the three aforementioned friendly matches are directly governed by FIFA. Given this penalty, it is highly likely that Vietnam’s national team will be awarded 3-0 wins.