FIFA's sanctions and the consequences that Malaysian football may suffer
Malaysian football is experiencing the biggest shock in many years when FIFA officially announced the penalty for the national team of this country for cheating on documents for 7 naturalized players. As a result, the Football Association of Malaysia was fined and 7 players were banned from playing for 12 months.
Commentator Vu Quang Huy - who has followed Southeast Asian football for decades - frankly expressed his opinion: "I am not surprised by FIFA's decision. In the match where Malaysia beat Vietnam 4-0 in June, I could not resist. They used a series of naturalized players, some of whom had never played football in Malaysia, just set foot in this country and wore the national team jersey without proving their roots or accumulating time to compete in the country.
Commentator Quang Huy emphasized that FIFA is always very strict in handling violations. The appeal from Malaysia may only last for a short time, but it is difficult to change the nature of the case.
If the final conclusion is kept unchanged, Malaysian football could be eliminated from the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, even banned from participating in international activities for a certain period of time. This will greatly affect the development of the country's football scene, causing them to be left behind and losing an entire generation of players.
The incident of 7 naturalized players not only shocked Malaysian football, but also raised big questions about how to manage and select personnel for the national team. The fact that they are too hasty in chasing achievements and using naturalized players without control has caused them to pay a heavy price, commentator Quang Huy said.
Vietnamese football seen from Malaysia's lesson
Malaysia's incident is a clear warning for Vietnamese football in the process of integration and development. Although Vietnam is currently also opening the door for naturalized players, the way to do it is very different from Malaysia, which is to be cautious and fully comply with regulations.
Commentator Quang Huy shared: We do not have the social characteristics of Malaysia, where there is a large immigrant community and relationships are easily built up. In fact, Vietnamese football is increasing by internal strength, for a long time the Vietnam Football Federation has been very cautious about naturalized players. There have been periods of more than 10 years when we said no to naturalizing players, even before that, there were quality foreign players like Huynh Kesley or Dinh Hoang Max...
However, the trend of modern football and international integration has also begun to reopen, but everything is going in a tight direction. A typical example is the case of Nguyen Xuan Son. He not only meets the requirements to compete in the V.League for more than 5 years but also shows his commitment to Vietnamese football and leaves an impression in the Nam Dinh club's shirt".
Recently, a number of other players have been proposed for naturalization such as Gustavo, Janclesio or Geovane... Commentator Quang Huy said that they have all gone through a long process of playing in Vietnam and proven their abilities. If he is called up to the national team, it will be a reasonable addition.
But I also want to emphasize that Filip Nguyen, Cao Pendant Quang Vinh and many other overseas Vietnamese players are also valuable resources that need to be exploited appropriately. They not only have professional capacity but also carry the blood of Vietnam, ready to return to contribute to their homeland, added this football expert.
Lessons from Malaysia show that if not careful in the naturalization process, it will not only affect the image of the national team but may also suffer legal consequences, even losing the foundation for developing internal football strength.
