The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Allegations of Forged Player Nationality Documents, Will Appeal Sanctions
The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.
The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines
In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body restated its assertions about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.
Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500.
The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.
FIFA's Stance on Forgery
"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.
"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.
FAM's Response and Appeal Plan
The international body's document states that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the validity of the papers."
"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it noted.
FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.
The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."
"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement declared.
The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the national authorities.
Regional Background and Political Reactions
South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.
The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure from FIFA."
"Fans are angry, disappointed and let down," she added.
Current Status and Forthcoming Matches
Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.
