By Kabir Abdulrauf
The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) has formally appealed to FIFA to overturn their 2-0 loss to Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, citing the use of an ineligible player by the Malaysian side.
The match, played in March in Johor, Malaysia, saw Hector Hevel score the opening goal for the home team, one of seven players later banned by FIFA for allegedly presenting forged ancestry documents to obtain Malaysian eligibility.
Last month, FIFA handed the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) a $440,000 fine and imposed one-year bans on the seven foreign-born players, accusing the federation of submitting falsified documents claiming the players had Malaysian heritage.
In a statement to AFP, Indra Man Tuladhar, CEO of ANFA, said:
“We have reached out regarding an ineligible player in the match. Thus, the result has to be overturned.”
FIFA’s investigation concluded that none of the seven players had a parent or grandparent born in Malaysia, rendering them ineligible under the governing body’s nationality rules.
The FAM has denied deliberate wrongdoing, insisting it did not knowingly falsify any player records.
The controversy also extends beyond Nepal’s appeal, as all seven players featured in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the same qualifying campaign.
Nepal currently sits bottom of Group F, having lost all four matches so far, but the appeal, if successful, could alter the standings in what has become one of the most contentious qualification campaigns in Asian football history.
