The Malaysian Football Association Rejects FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Nationality Papers, Vows to Appeal Sanctions
The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the body for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.
FIFA's Allegations and Fines
In the ninth month, FIFA levied 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 the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football authority reiterated its claims about doctored 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 win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.
The implicated group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.
The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery
"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.
"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.
The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy
The international body's report states that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."
"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.
The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.
The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a statement on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."
"Allegations that players 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the announcement said.
The governing body will submit an official appeal 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 nations have recently pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born players from the overseas community.
The country's sports minister, the official, said in a release that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from FIFA."
"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.
Present Status and Upcoming Matches
Despite doubt regarding the national team's composition, the team is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.
