Malaysia Denies FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Nationality Documents, Will Challenge Punishments
The Malaysian Football Association (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 representing the national team for one year.
The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines
In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.
Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.
The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.
FIFA's Position on Forgery
"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.
"Forging documents undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.
The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy
The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."
"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.
The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.
The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."
"Claims that players 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement declared.
The association will present an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.
Southeast Asian Context and Political Responses
South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.
Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."
"Supporters are upset, hurt and let down," she remarked.
Present Situation and Forthcoming Matches
Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.
