🔗 Share this article

The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement said.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, 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 from FIFA."

"Supporters are angry, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Situation and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.