🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football authority restated its assertions about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it noted.

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the statement said.

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

Regional Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Despite uncertainty surrounding the squad's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.