Malaysia Denies FIFA Allegations of Falsified Player Citizenship Documents, Vows to Appeal Punishments

The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the body for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-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 fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body restated its assertions about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the announcement said.

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

"Supporters are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing Laos on Thursday.