Striker Khalid Jamlus and goalkeepers Kamarulzaman Hassan and Azmin Azram Abdul Aziz will miss the Asian zone group three matches in Hong Kong after staying out late at a disco.

It means Malaysia will face Qatar, Hong Kong and Palestine without a recognised goalkeeper.

Malaysia coach Allan Harris admitted the sackings were a blow to the team but said the move was vital to ensure discipline.

"I am shooting myself in the foot," he said. "This is definitely going to affect our strength.

"But I have no alternative. I must ensure discipline is maintained for the long term good of the team.

"I also owe it to the young lads coming into the side not to let them get such bad habits."

The trio were spotted at Kuala Lumpur's Hard Rock Cafe earlier this month.

Dell Akbar Khan, the FA of Malaysia's secretary-general, said the trio would be summoned before the association's disciplinary committee once Harris hands in a report.

"We view the matter seriously," said Khan. "For now, they are free to go back and train with their respective state teams.

"It makes no difference whether they were out on their day off. They were warned about it and they simply broke the rules."

In 1995, six players were sacked from the national team after absconding from training to spend time at a disco.