FIFA Told to Take Action As Club 'Deliberately Forfeit' Game to Avoid Relegation

A formal complaint has been submitted to FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after a club accused one of its rivals of deliberately forfeiting a game to avoid relegation.

Earlier this month, Maldives-based side Club Valencia were relegated from the Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League, despite picking up a 2-0 win over Club Eagles in their final game of the 2025-26 season.

It was a controversial moment, to say the least.

Ismail Asfi's side managed to draw level on points with relegation rivals Green Streets ahead of the latter's clash against third-place New Radiant, but they still needed Green Streets to lose their last match by four goals in order to avoid the drop.

However, shortly before the game, Green Streets allegedly forfeited their last match against New Radiant, meaning they stayed up with a standard 3-0 walkover while Club Valencia were relegated.

Club Valencia have been relegated from the Dhiraagu Dhivehi Premier League. Image credit: Club Valencia/Facebook

Now, Club Valencia have called on the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) to investigate the incident. They have also issued a complaint to both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

In a statement on their official Facebook page, Valencia claimed Green Streets deliberately determined the outcome of the match after failing to show up. “Determining the result for yourself is fixing the outcome of the match,” it said, as per The Edition.

According to the previously mentioned publication, Green Streets did not attend the scheduled match, despite announcing their starting eleven in the pre-match squad list.

Popular social media account The Sweeper have since posted the story to their 51,000 followers on X.

They wrote: "Scandal in the Maldives, where Club Valencia won their final game of the season 2-0 but still needed relegation rivals Green Streets to lose their last match by four goals in order to beat the drop."

The account added: "To prevent that, Green Streets allegedly forfeited their last match & stayed up with a 3-0 walkover!"

Green Streets avoided relegation by goal difference.

So, there we have it. Green Streets secured a margin small enough to keep them above Club Valencia and secure their survival. Thoughts on the incident? Let us know in the comments.