The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Nationality Papers, Will Appeal Punishments
The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for one year.
The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines
In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored documentation in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.
Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.
The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.
FIFA's Position on Forgery
"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its report.
"Forging documents undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.
The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan
The international body's report states that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the validity of the documentation."
"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.
The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.
FAM reacted to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."
"Allegations that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement declared.
The association will present an official appeal of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.
Regional Background and Official Reactions
Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born players from the overseas community.
The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure from the global authority."
"Fans are upset, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.
Current Status and Upcoming Games
Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.
