Having lost 3 matches by default, Malaysia faces another heavy blow from FIFA

The Malaysian national team has officially suffered significant point deductions on the FIFA ranking following the forfeiture of 3 international friendly matches.

As previously reported, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) recently received a new sanction from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee during the meeting held on December 12, 2025, related to the use of ineligible players.

The meeting, chaired by FIFA Disciplinary Committee Vice President Jorge Palacio, concluded that FAM violated Article 19 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (2025 edition) by fielding ineligible players in the following three senior international matches:

1- Malaysia vs. Cape Verde at Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras on May 29, 2025, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

2- Malaysia vs. Singapore at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on September 4, 2025, which Malaysia won 2-1; and

3- Malaysia vs. Palestine at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Johor on September 8, 2025, where Malaysia secured a 1-0 victory.

Accordingly, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided to award 3-0 losses to Malaysia for all three matches. In addition, FAM was fined 10,000 CHF. FAM will submit a written request to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee seeking clarification on the decision before considering the next steps to take in this matter.

In the latest FIFA ranking update, Malaysia also lost points due to these three forfeited matches. Not only were previously earned points deducted, but Malaysia also lost points corresponding to the 0-3 forfeit scoreline. Ultimately, Malaysia lost 22.52 points and dropped 5 places to 121st in the world rankings.

Meanwhile, The Vietnamese national team gained an additional 5.89 points following their win over Laos, which had been partially added in the previous update. The "Golden Dragons" climbed 3 spots to 107th globally. In Southeast Asia, Thailand slipped one place to 96th, while Singapore rose 3 places to 148th.