The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Allegations of Falsified Player Citizenship Papers, Will Appeal Punishments
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.
FIFA's Allegations and Fines
In September, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.
Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.
The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.
The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification
"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a type of cheating," said FIFA in its report.
"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.
The Association's Response and Appeal Plan
The international body's document states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."
"Initial documentation indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it noted.
The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.
The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."
"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement declared.
The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.
Regional Background and Political Responses
South-east Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.
Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."
"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.
Present Situation and Forthcoming Games
Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.