New Delhi: Nepal has requested FIFA to overturn their 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers result against Malaysia in March this year, claiming that the Southeast Asian country fielded an ineligible player, as per a report in AFP. Nepal suffered a 0-2 loss in a Group F match against Malaysia in Johor earlier this year to slump to the bottom of the group.
Their appeal comes after the world governing body, last month, banned seven Malaysian foreign-born players for a year for submitting forged ancestry documents.
FIFA had also fined the FA of Malaysia (FAM) $440,000.
Hector Hevel, one of the seven players in question, scored Malaysia’s opening goal in the match against Nepal in March.
FIFA accuses Malaysian FA of submitting doctored documents
FIFA had accused the Malaysian football governing body of submitting false documents that claimed the seven players had Malaysian ancestry and were eligible to represent the nation. On the contrary, FAM denied knowingly submitting anything wrong.
Nepal has lodged a complaint with FIFA to overturn its 2-0 defeat to Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, alleging that Malaysia fielded an ineligible player.
This follows FIFA’s ruling that Hector Hevel, who scored one of the two goals, was among seven heritage players… https://t.co/9cmBJksJhT pic.twitter.com/pRDo0oLIey
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) October 16, 2025
However, the world football governing body denied the claims of FAM and said that an investigation showed that none of the players actually had a parent or grandparent born in Malaysia
All the banned players had also featured in Malaysia’s 4-0 Asian Cup qualifying win against Vietnam in June.
Nepal is languishing in the bottom spot of Asian Cup qualifying Group F, having lost all four games. Meanwhile, Malaysia is sitting atop the table on 12 points ahead of Vietnam (nine points) and Laos (three points).