The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven national players have been sanctioned by FIFA’s disciplinary committee for breaching Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) relating to forgery and falsification.
The global football body said FAM had submitted doctored documentation in eligibility enquiries to FIFA in order to field the players in question.
The players involved are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.
All seven featured in Malaysia’s Asian Cup 2027 qualifier against Vietnam on June 10, after which FIFA received a complaint regarding the eligibility of several of them.
Following its investigation, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled that FAM must pay a fine of CHF350,000 (RM1.9 million).
Each of the seven players have been fined CHF2,000 (RM11,000).
The players are also suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months, effective immediately.
The committee has referred the issue of the players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia to the FIFA Football Tribunal for further consideration.
FAM and the players were notified of the decision today. The sanctions are also open to appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
In July, an Indonesian report claimed that Malaysia’s 4-0 win over Vietnam on June 10 may be overturned because some of Harimau Malaya’s naturalised players were purportedly ineligible to represent the nation.
The report alleged that the result would be voided and Vietnam would be awarded a 3-0 win.
FAM dismissed the report as baseless, saying it had complied with the necessary procedures for the registration of the players.
Nine of the team’s starting-11 in the game were naturalised players, with five of them – Figueiredo, Holgado, Irazabal, Garces and Machuca – receiving FIFA clearance just hours before kick-off.
