According to The Guardian, the All Nepal Football Association alleged that Hector Hevel, one of the goalscorers in that match, “was ruled ineligible by Fifa, meaning the result could be overturned”.

Malaysia had defeated Nepal 2-0 in the match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor on March 25, with goals from Hevel and Lavere Corbin-Ong.

Last month, FAM and seven naturalised players – Hevel, Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo and Jon Irazabal – were penalised by Fifa’s disciplinary committee after being found guilty of violating Article 22 of the Fifa disciplinary code related to document falsification.

Fifa said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the eligibility of the players, allowing them to compete in the third-round match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.

FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.8 million), while each of the seven players were fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective immediately.

FAM attributed the issue to a technical error made by an administrative staff member and has since lodged an appeal.

If the appeal fails, Malaysia could face 0-3 forfeits against both Vietnam and Nepal, depending on the Asian Football Confederation’s final decision.

The Fifa appeals committee typically takes up to two months to process cases, while a subsequent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport could extend the process by several more months.

With the qualifiers scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, both AFC and the court of arbitration face pressure to resolve the dispute quickly to avoid disruptions to the competition calendar.