🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a type of cheating," said FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the statement declared.

The association will submit an official appeal of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association needs to finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.