Absence of seven foreign-born players who have been handed 12-month suspensions leaves significant hole in coach Peter Cklamovski’s squad
Malaysia coach Peter Cklamovski will lead a much-changed squad into Thursday’s Asian Cup qualifier against Laos as the fallout from an eligibility controversy continued to affect the team ahead of the game in Vientiane.
The Australian has been denied the services of Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel as Fifa suspended the recently naturalised septet, citing doctored documentation.
The players have been handed 12-month bans and their absences leave a significant hole in a squad that had already started to see the benefits of the new arrivals.
While none of the seven had played more than four times for the country, Malaysia notched up wins over Nepal and Vietnam in Asian Cup qualifying, as well as securing friendly victories against Palestine and Singapore since their inclusion.
