The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Accusations of Forged Player Nationality Papers, Will Appeal Punishments
The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision 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 12 months.
The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines
In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the players after discovering that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The international football authority restated its claims about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.
Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.
The accused group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.
FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification
"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.
"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.
The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy
FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."
"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.
FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.
FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."
"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement declared.
The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.
Regional Background and Political Reactions
Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.
Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "FAM must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."
"Fans are angry, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.
Current Situation and Upcoming Matches
Regardless of uncertainty regarding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.