🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification

"Document falsification constitutes, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement declared.

The association will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Current Situation and Upcoming Matches

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