🔗 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 overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

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

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document states that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

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

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement declared.

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

Regional Context and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Supporters are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Present Situation and Upcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty surrounding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.