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This came after Cong An Ha Noi forfeited their win for fielding ineligible players.
February 17, 2026, 06:31 PM
BG Tampines Rovers have been awarded a 3-0 win for the first leg of their AFC Champions League Two round-of-16 tie.
This came after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruled on Feb. 17 that their Vietnamese opponents, Cong An Ha Noi (CAHN), had fielded ineligible players, resulting in the forfeiture of their original 4-0 victory, ESPN reported.
Two ineligible players
The breach involved CAHN’s Australian midfielder Stefan Mauk and Brazilian striker Jeferson Elias — known as China — who played despite serving one-match suspensions picked up in a previous game against Hong Kong’s Tai Po.
Both started the match against Tampines, with China scoring CAHN’s third goal.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference for the second leg on Feb. 17, CAHN coach Alexandre Pölking said the club took full responsibility for the mistake.
However, he reportedly noted that both players had been cleared to play during a match commissioner’s meeting a day earlier, according to ESPN.
Mauk also addressed the issue on X, writing: “You’d assume the match eligibility report from AFC days before the game saying we can play would be correct.”
ESPN reported that both players had been named on a list of eligible players for the first leg.
Onus on the clubs
The AFC maintained that the onus is on the clubs to ensure they document and monitor the disciplinary records of their own players.
In its findings, the AFC said: “The Defendant [CAHN] failed to adhere to its obligations to monitor the suspensions received by its players and ensure that all players fielded during a competition are eligible to play.”
CAHN were also fined US$2,000 (S$2,523) and forfeited 50 per cent of their US$80,000 (S$100,949) participation fee.
Mauk and China are considered to have served their suspensions and will be eligible to feature in the second leg.
A repeat of history?
The administrative error mirrors an incident in the previous season, when Lion City Sailors were awarded a win despite originally losing to Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
The Japanese side had fielded French forward Valère Germain while he was still serving a three-match suspension.
The Sailors went on to reach the final, where they narrowly lost the AFC Champions League Two title to Sharjah FC of the United Arab Emirates.
Top photo from Asian Football Confederation
