#fifa-sanctions

#fifa-sanctions

there was real jubilation among the 60,000 home spectators upon the final whistle in Kuala Lumpur on on 10 June. A 4-0 win over regional rivals Vietnam not just kept the Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tigers) on course for the 2027 Asian Cup but well and truly confirmed they were dining back at the top table in southeast Asia. Four months later, they are still the talk of the region of 650 million people, but not in a good way.

Fifa said the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had forged birth certificates to make it look like the players' grandparents were born in Malaysia. This, the body said, "constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating". But FAM said the discrepancies arose from an "administrative error" and that it would appeal Fifa's penalties. It maintained that the players were "legitimate Malaysian citizens".