The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Nationality Papers, Will Challenge Punishments
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the nationality papers of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.
The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines
In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather 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 released on Monday.
Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also penalized $2,500.
The accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.
The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery
"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its report.
"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.
FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy
The international body's document states that FAM admitted it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."
"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.
The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.
FAM responded to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."
"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement said.
The association will present an official appeal of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.
Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions
South-east Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.
Malaysia's sports minister, the official, said in a statement that "the football association must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations made by the global authority."
"Fans are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she added.
Present Status and Forthcoming Games
Despite doubt regarding the national team's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.
