🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.

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

The accused individuals includes born in Spain 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 originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification

"Document falsification constitutes, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's report claims that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Background and Official Reactions

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

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

"Fans are upset, disappointed and let down," she added.

Current Status and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.