Malaysia have been urged to put aside dreams of the 2027 Asian Cup ahead of their rematch with Vietnam, as the country anxiously await a verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over their naturalization scandal.

Malaysian fans are counting down the hours to the CAS hearing, which took place late on February 26 at its headquarters in Switzerland.

According to the New Straits Times, only the lawyers representing the case were present at the hearing. No officials from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) nor any of the seven players involved - Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel - attended.

Bernama reported that although the hearing concluded the same day, it may take several days for Malaysian football to learn the final verdict. However, the New Straits Times suggested the decision could be announced shortly afterward, possibly as early as 5am on February 27.

At this moment, all eyes in Malaysia are fixed on CAS. Yet legal experts and football analysts argue that the key issue is not the timing of the verdict, but the reality that Malaysian football may struggle to escape punishment, given that FAM had already admitted to falsifying documents during the naturalization process of the seven players.

Lawyer Nik Erman described the case as having reached a “decisive turning point” during a prior hearing with FIFA, where FAM acknowledged altering documents before submitting them to the world governing body. In his view, even an appeal to CAS offers little hope of overturning the sanctions.

Football analyst Zakaria Rahim told Bharian that even a reduced penalty would still amount to an acknowledgment of wrongdoing.

“If CAS decides to mitigate the punishment, it still means FAM and the players committed an offence by falsifying documents,” he said.

Rahim warned of a potential “disaster” following the CAS ruling, noting that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) may already have prepared sanctions to award 3-0 victories to Vietnam and Nepal, pending only procedural confirmation from CAS.

“Perhaps AFC have already made their decision and are simply waiting for CAS to issue its ruling before making it official,” he said.

“In reality, we are not overly concerned about CAS’ decision itself. What worries us most are the subsequent actions of FIFA and AFC.”

He pointed to FIFA’s earlier decision to hand Malaysia 0-3 forfeits in three friendlies against Cape Verde, Singapore and Palestine.

“It is highly likely that AFC will follow FIFA’s lead, overturning Malaysia’s wins into 0-3 defeats against Vietnam and Nepal. That would mean the loss of six points.

If that happens, Malaysia can forget about the 2027 Asian Cup, and the rematch against Vietnam on March 31 will be meaningless.”

Should Malaysia forfeit the two matches, Vietnam would climb to the top of Group F in the final round of Asian Cup 2027 qualifying with 15 points, while Malaysia would drop to nine.

Rahim also raised an even darker scenario.

“Missing out on the 2027 Asian Cup may not be the heaviest price we have to pay. It cannot be ruled out that FIFA could suspend FAM after this case.

If that happens, the damage would extend across the entire Malaysian football ecosystem. If we avoid suspension, we should be grateful. Therefore, what we truly fear are the next moves from FIFA and AFC. We should celebrate if the outcome turns out to be positive.”

Lam Hoang