🔗 Share this article

The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football authority restated its claims about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

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

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born 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 Position on Forgery

"Document falsification constitutes, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement declared.

The association will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "FAM must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Present Situation and Upcoming Games

Regardless of doubt regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.