On January 20, the AFC released a statement in partnership with FIFA saying  at least 12 Brazilian players had “falsified Timorese birth or baptismal certificates”  to play for Timor-Leste’s national team in qualifiying matches for the 2019 Asian Cup, 2018 World Cup and other competitions.

The Asian body ordered Timor-Leste to forfeit 29 matches involving national teams at senior and age-group level played between June 2012 and July 2016, and imposed a $20,000 fine.

According to the AFC, the list of corrupted games was "non-exhaustive,” suspecting other ineligible players and competitions, including the 2011 South East Asian Games and 2013 Asian Youth Games, are involved.

Addressing the growing calls for FFTL to amend its tarnished global reputation, its president, Francisco Kalbuadi Lay dismissed calls  to have the body removed, saying: “We will just wait out the time until they (AFC) inform us what to do.”

The short statement followed the identification and sanctioning of two senior FFTL officials for their parts in falsification scandal by the AFC.

The general secretary of FFTL, Amandio de Araujo Sarmento, was banned from soccer for three years and fined $9,000. Another official, Gelasio De Silva Carvalho, was fined $3,000 for interfering with a witness.

The AFC statement did not mention Lay, who is also an elected member of the Asian Confederation's executive committee.

At the same time, Leovigildo Hornai, the Secretary for Timor-Leste Youth and Sport, questioned why the FFTL was not being held to account domestically for its actions, saying representatives from the football body had refused to attend meetings seeking to create a path forward for football in Timor-Leste. 

Hornai said with the government not intervening, or commenting on the eligibility scandal, Timorese people had a right to hear from FFTL what happened to their national football team.

To date the FFTL has avoided official sanction itself, however, meaning it will continue to receive financing from FIFA and can still field teams in international friendlies and competitions like the Southeast Asian Games.