🔗 Share this article

The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their grandparents 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 papers 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 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to FIFA's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the statement said.

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

Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Present Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.