🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for allegedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football authority restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement declared.

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

Regional Context and Political Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "FAM must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.