🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football authority restated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the statement declared.

The governing body will submit an official appeal of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Official Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Fans are angry, hurt and let down," she added.

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.