Malaysia foreign players banned over phony birth certificates
FIFA will launch a formal investigation into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) over seven foreign players on their national team who have had their birth certificates altered.
According to The New Straits Times (NST), FAM has admitted that certain members of its secretariat did make “administrative adjustments” to the birth certificates.
However, it stated that this was done without knowledge of the executive committee or the general secretary Datuk Noor Azman Rahman.
It also alleged that the seven players, who have been banned for 12 months, were unaware of the falsified documents.
FAM insists this is an isolated incident
FAM further claims that the tampering of birth certificates was an entirely isolated incident.
It insists that the acts were unauthorised and was not a deliberate attempt to cheat the system.
“There was no organisational scheme to fabricate lineage or bypass eligibility regulations,” said FAM to FIFA.
Source: Football Association of Malaysia on Facebook
Under FIFA rules, a player is allowed to play for a country if a parent or grandparent was born there.
However, FIFA’s investigation into these seven foreign players reveals that FAM’s documents proclaiming that these players had a Malaysian heritage are false.
Instead, FIFA says the players’ grandparents were born in Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the Netherlands.
The players involved are Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Hector Hevel and Jon Irazábal.
In June, all seven players appeared in Malaysia’s match against Vietnam in the the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers where the former won 4-0.
According to ESPN, none of these individuals have resided in Malaysia.
FAM punished for doctoring documents
Since this revelation, FAM’s general secretary has been suspended, and the association is also being fined 350,000 Swiss francs (~S$570,000).
The seven players are also being fined 2,000 Swiss francs (~S$3,300) each along with their ban.
On 3 Nov, FIFA rejected FAM’s appeal of the verdict.
After receiving the written verdict on 18 Nov, FAM said it will escalate matters by taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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Featured image adapted from Football Association of Malaysia on Facebook and Football Association of Malaysia via The Star.Â
