Malaysia's football association has announced it will appeal Fifa's decision to sanction it for allegedly falsifying citizenship documents for seven overseas-born players. The global football body fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) $438,000 and suspended the players for one year after discovering their grandparents were not born in Malaysia, as claimed, but in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Fifa's "grandfather rule" allows players to represent countries where their biological parents or grandparents were born. In a disciplinary committee report released on Monday, Fifa reiterated its claims about falsified documentation, stating that forgery "constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating". The report alleged that FAM admitted it was contacted by external agencies regarding the players' heritage but failed to independently verify the documentation.
FAM responded in a statement on Tuesday, attributing the discrepancies to an "administrative error" and asserting that the players are legitimate Malaysian citizens. The association will present an official appeal using original documents certified by the Malaysian government.
The suspended players include Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui from Spain; Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca from Argentina; Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano from the Netherlands; and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo from Brazil. Each was fined $2,500.
Malaysia's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated that FAM must complete the appeal process and respond clearly to Fifa's revelations. Despite the uncertainty, Malaysia is scheduled to play Laos in an Asian Cup qualifier on Thursday.
