The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Allegations of Forged Player Citizenship Documents, Vows to Appeal Sanctions
The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.
The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties
In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The international football authority restated its claims about falsified papers in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.
Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.
The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.
FIFA's Position on Forgery
"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.
"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.
The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan
FIFA's report claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."
"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.
FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.
FAM responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."
"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement declared.
The governing body will present an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.
Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses
Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.
Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a release that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from FIFA."
"Fans are angry, disappointed and let down," she remarked.
Present Status and Forthcoming Matches
Despite uncertainty surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.
