FIFA has moved to open a full investigation into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) after seven naturalised players were handed one-year bans for allegedly using falsified documents.
The ruling followed FIFA’s discovery that the players featured in Malaysia’s 4–0 win over Vietnam in June during the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
According to FIFA, the registration records submitted for the players contained inconsistencies linked to claims about their Malaysian heritage.
In its decision, the Appeals Committee directed its Secretariat to begin a deeper audit of the association’s internal systems.
“The (FIFA Appeal) Committee instructs the Secretariat to take immediate steps to launch a formal investigation into the internal operations of the FAM.”
The investigation will examine who authorised the questionable paperwork and whether FAM’s compliance structures failed.
FIFA added that the process must determine if additional sanctions should be applied to individuals within the association.
Documents reviewed by FIFA showed that players including Facundo Garces, Gabriel Arrocha, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel were naturalised under procedures overseen by the association.
FIFA found that the birth records submitted to authorities did not match official documents it managed to retrieve.
FIFA added “Players admitted at the hearing that they did not read any of the application documents submitted to the Malaysian government, including the part which concerned the declaration that they had lived for 10 years in Malaysia,” adding that “The players explained that following the submission of documents, FAM undertook the bureaucratic steps necessary for the players’ naturalisation.”
