Johor Darul Ta’zim have been cleared to continue their charge in the ASEAN Club Championship — officially known as the 2025-26 Shopee Cup — after the ASEAN Football Federation found that the Malaysia Super League champions had not contravened any of the competition’s regulations.
This comes in the wake of the falsified documents saga that Malaysian football was embroiled in since last June, where it was alleged that seven players had gained eligibility to represent Harimau Malaya using illegitimate paperwork.
A drawn-out process saw the Football Association of Malaysia appeal against the sanctions imposed on them by FIFA — and then take the case to the Court of Arbitration of Sport.
CAS’ final verdict partially upheld FIFA’s original punishment and deemed that the septet in question were guilty of the infraction.
One of the fallouts from the matter was then whether JDT could face any repercussions given three of those players — João Figueiredo, Hector Hevel and Jon Irazábal — had played for the team earlier this season in the ASEAN Club Championship under Malaysian citizenship.
The ASEAN Club Championship has a limit of seven foreigners in a match-day squad.
However, using JDT’s 3-1 win over Lion City Sailors on Aug. 21 as an example, the Southern Tigers would have fielded ten “foreigners” in that match if it is deemed that Figueiredo, Hevel and Irazábal were indeed not “locals”.
Although there was no public statement officially released by the AFF, a letter dated April 14 — which ESPN has seen — was disseminated to a particular set of stakeholders informing that the organisation had concluded its investigation into the matter after “a careful and considered review”.
It was stated: “The AFF has concluded that there is no prima facie to proceed against the Club or the Sanctioned Players under the AFF Disciplinary and Ethics Code or the applicable Competition Regulations.”
The AFF also noted:
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“no forged or falsified documentation was submitted by the Club or the Sanctioned Players in connection with their registration for the Competition to the AFF; and”
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“thus, at all material times, the Sanctioned Players held Malaysian nationality, and the Club did not register or field more than the permitted number of foreign players in any match of the Competition.”
It is also worth noting that JDT were not penalised in the AFC Champions League Elite, where they will meet Saudi Pro League giants Al Ahli in the quarterfinals on Friday, although the continental tournament does not have any match-day restrictions on import players.
AFF’s conclusion of the matter means JDT remain on course to win the ASEAN Club Championship in their tournament debut, which continues next month when they take on familiar foes Buriram United in a two-legged semifinal on May 6 and 13.
