The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Nationality Documents, Will Appeal Sanctions
The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team 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 footballers after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The international football governing body reiterated its assertions about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.
Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.
The accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.
The Governing Body's Position on Forgery
"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.
"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.
The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy
The international body's report claims that the Malaysian association conceded 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 stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.
The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.
The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies 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 presented to date," the announcement said.
The governing body will present an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.
Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses
Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born players from the overseas community.
Malaysia's sports minister, the official, said in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure from the global authority."
"Supporters are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.
Current Situation and Forthcoming Matches
Regardless of doubt regarding the squad's composition, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.
