🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body restated its assertions about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

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

The accused group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

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

"Forging documents undermines the very core 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 clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report claims that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the statement declared.

The association will present an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "FAM needs to finish 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 disappointed," she remarked.

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt regarding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.