The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Allegations of Falsified Player Citizenship Papers, Will Appeal Punishments
The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the country for 12 months.
The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines
In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and banned the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.
Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.
The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.
FIFA's Stance on Forgery
"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.
"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.
The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy
The international body's report states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the papers."
"Initial documentation indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it noted.
FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.
FAM reacted to the global body's report in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."
"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement declared.
The governing body will present an official appeal of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.
Regional Context and Political Reactions
South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.
The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."
"Supporters are angry, hurt and disappointed," she added.
Current Situation and Upcoming Games
Despite uncertainty surrounding the national team's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.
