‘A form of cheating’: Malaysia FA used forged documents for 7 foreign-born footballers, says FIFA
The Football Association of Malaysia says it will immediately appeal FIFA’s decision.
Malaysia's players pose before the start of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier between Malaysia and Vietnam at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Jun 10, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
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KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said on Tuesday (Oct 7) it will immediately appeal international football governing body FIFA’s decision to fine FAM and seven foreign-born players, as well as suspend the latter for a year.
The FAM and players used forged or falsified birth certificates of the players’ grandparents to secure their eligibility to play for the national team, FIFA said on Monday in written grounds of its decision made on Sep 25.
The seven naturalised footballers played in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory against Vietnam in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier on Jun 10, with two of them each scoring a goal.
In its written grounds, FIFA said the FAM’s and players’ alleged conduct “constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating, which cannot in any way be condoned”.
“The act of forgery strikes at the very core 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 clean sport and the principle of fair play,” Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA’s disciplinary committee, said in his decision.
Contrary to the FAM’s and players’ assertion of diligence, FIFA said they did not “exercise the necessary level of scrutiny or care”.
The FAM must announce its intention to appeal in writing within three days of being notified of FIFA’s grounds of decision.
FIFA’s fine last month of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.85 million or US$438,960) on FAM, and a fine of 2,000 Swiss francs and suspension from all football-related activities for a year on the players, have created a stir in football-mad Malaysia.
On Tuesday, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the FAM must respond clearly to all the revelations made by FIFA, adding Malaysian football fans are “hurt, angry and disappointed”.
On Sep 27, Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim – who owns Johor Darul Ta’zim, the club that three of the footballers play for – had questioned who had lodged the complaint and why FIFA reversed its earlier decision.
“FIFA has already approved (the naturalisation) before, so why has the decision changed now?” Tunku Ismail said in a post on X.
Here is what happened, according to FIFA’s grounds of decision.
COMPLAINT FILED A DAY AFTER VIETNAM MATCH
In March and June this year, the FAM submitted documents for seven foreign-born players to FIFA, seeking their eligibility to represent Malaysia’s national team.
The seven players are Argentina-born Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca; Spain-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui; Dutch-born Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano and Brazil-born Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo.
According to birth certificates of the players’ grandparents submitted to FIFA, the grandparents were born in places such as Penang, Melaka, Johor and Sarawak in Malaysia. Some of the certificates were dated January 2025, Palacio noted.
Under Malaysia’s constitution, such family lineage would grant citizenship to the players.
FIFA responded to the FAM that, based on the information provided, the players appeared to comply with pertinent requirements and would be eligible to play for the national team.
They played in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the Asian Cup third-round qualifier on Jun 10, with Holgado and Figueiredo each scoring a goal.
The next day, FIFA received a complaint regarding the eligibility of five of the players. Palacio did not identify the source of the complaint.
The FIFA disciplinary committee’s secretariat investigated and was able to gather a copy of the “original birth certificate in question”.
The documents it obtained indicated the grandparents were born in the same countries as the players, and not in Malaysia.
The secretariat established the documents submitted by FAM were forged, and “the players have made use of these documents to evade and circumvent the pertinent FIFA regulations in order to be eligible to represent the team of the FAM”.
Palacio said Malaysia’s National Registration Department (NRD) – in its statement filed by FAM – confirmed that the Malaysian authorities “never received the original birth certificates”. The NRD is a department under Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs responsible for determining citizenship status.
“Instead, the NRD issued its own copies based on secondary information and foreign documents from Argentina, Brazil and Spain,” Palacio wrote.
“The NRD further admitted that it could not retrieve the original handwritten records and therefore issued official copies based on evidence that a birth had occurred.”
This admission, FIFA found, “indicates that the Malaysia government’s validation process may not have been based on original documents, which calls into question the thoroughness of FAM’s verification process”.
FIFA was satisfied that the birth certificates submitted by FAM have been “forged and/or falsified, in that they were doctored to alter the birthplace listed therein”.
Its disciplinary committee opened disciplinary proceedings in August against the FAM and players, and notified them of the fines and suspension on Sep 26.
PLAYERS ACTED IN GOOD FAITH, SAYS FAM
The FAM and players have said they were not aware of the circumstance that some of the documents submitted might have been falsified, FIFA noted. They also deny playing any role in the preparation of the documents now alleged to be false.
In a statement on Facebook on Tuesday, the FAM said it is taking some conclusions in the written grounds seriously, especially the allegation that the players obtained falsified documents or deliberately attempted to circumvent eligibility rules.
“FAM firmly asserts that there is no evidence to support the claim that these documents were forged, as alleged by FIFA. All documentation and submissions concerning the players’ eligibility were prepared, verified, and managed entirely by FAM in accordance with the established procedures,” it said.
“At all times, the players acted in good faith, relying wholly on the verification and registration processes administered by FAM,” it said.
FAM said it is committed to safeguarding the interests of Malaysian football, protecting the rights of its players, and ensuring processes are conducted transparently and in compliance with the rules.
It said it would use all available legal channels to fight the case.
But it noted the case involves official information regarding the government’s procedures for the issuance and verification of passports.
“In line with the Official Secrets Act 1972 and the Passport Act 1966, any unauthorised disclosure of these materials or processes is strictly prohibited,” it said.
“FAM is therefore legally bound to maintain the confidentiality of these specific elements.”
It added that it would only share relevant information needed for the purposes of the FIFA proceedings.
In the meantime, Malaysia has two third-round Asian Cup matches against Laos on Thursday and Oct 14. Malaysia coach Peter Cklamovski will reportedly lead a much-changed squad.
