The Malaysian Football Association Denies FIFA Allegations of Forged Player Nationality Papers, Will Challenge Sanctions
The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.
The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines
In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority 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 4-0 win over Vietnam 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, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.
The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery
"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its report.
"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.
FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy
FIFA's document claims that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."
"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.
FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.
The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."
"Allegations that players 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the announcement said.
The association will present an official appeal of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.
Regional Context and Political Reactions
South-east Asian countries have lately pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the overseas community.
Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "the football association needs to complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by the global authority."
"Fans are angry, hurt and let down," she added.
Current Situation and Upcoming Games
Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.
