FIFA's Appeal Committee has dismissed the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) challenge, confirming bans for seven naturalized players and a fine for the federation in a documents forgery scandal. The players, who used falsified records to claim Malaysian heritage, each face a 12-month suspension from football activities. FAM plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
FIFA announced on November 3, 2025, that it rejected FAM's appeal against sanctions imposed on September 26, 2025, by the Disciplinary Committee for violations under Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which prohibits forged or falsified documents. The case involves seven overseas-born players who allegedly used fake documents to prove Malaysian grandparents, enabling them to represent the Malaysia national team. These players featured in matches, including a 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, 2025.
FAM has been fined 350,000 Swiss francs (approximately RM1.8 million or £331,000), while each player—Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—faces a 2,000 Swiss francs fine and a 12-month ban from all football-related activities. Original birth certificates revealed the players' grandparents were born in Argentina, the Netherlands, and Spain, not Malaysia.
In a statement, FIFA noted: "After analysing the submissions and conducting a hearing, the Appeal Committee decided to dismiss the appeals, and to confirm in its entirety the ... sanctions imposed upon FAM and the seven players." FAM responded: "FAM will write to FIFA to obtain full details and written reasons for the decision before taking the next step to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). This is the first time FAM has faced a situation like this, and our lawyers and management are very surprised by the decision."
The federation has 10 days to request a detailed report, followed by 21 days to file with CAS, potentially costing up to 1.27 million Malaysian ringgit (US$302,000) in fees. Malaysia leads the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers with 12 points from four matches but risks 0-3 forfeits or disqualification for using ineligible players against Nepal and Vietnam, pending AFC's final decision by March 31, 2026.
Reactions vary: Johor Regent Tunku Mahkota Ismail called the sanctions "politically motivated" and pledged support for the players. Former striker Safee Sali urged accountability, saying: "We must accept our mistakes and learn from it." The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) formed a task force to probe document verification failures.
