🔗 Share this article

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

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will submit an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Reactions

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

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

"Fans are angry, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Current Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.