FIFA has imposed sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven of its national team players for their involvement in forging documents to naturalize foreign-born players. The FAM has been fined 350,000 Swiss francs (approximately $438,000 - $440,000), and each of the seven players has been suspended for 12 months and fined 2,000 Swiss francs ($2,510).

The sanctions stem from an incident in which the FAM submitted doctored documents to FIFA in order to field seven foreign-born players for the men's national team. The players in question are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano. All seven players were born outside of Malaysia. The players featured in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in a 2027 Asian Cup qualifier in June. This win could potentially be overturned.

FIFA's disciplinary committee took action after receiving a complaint about the eligibility of several players who participated in the match. The committee found that the FAM had doctored documentation to field the players. FIFA stated that the players breached regulations concerning forgery and falsification. The FAM is planning to appeal the decision and stated that they acted in good faith and with full transparency and maintained that documentation and procedures were managed transparently and along FIFA guidelines.

This incident is the latest in a series of cases involving false registrations in international soccer, often involving players from Brazil seeking to exploit FIFA rules that allow some foreign-born players to change their eligibility. East Timor was expelled from the 2023 Asian Cup for selecting players with fake birth certificates in World Cup qualifying games, and Equatorial Guinea's men's and women's teams were caught in qualifying games for tournaments including the 2012 London Olympics and men's 2014 World Cup.

In addition to the fines and suspensions, FIFA has stated that it will investigate the players' eligibility to represent Malaysia. While Vietnamese media outlets have reported that Vietnam will be awarded a 3-0 win for the June match, FIFA has not yet commented on the matter. Malaysia currently leads Asia Group F in qualifying with six points from two games, three points ahead of Vietnam. Only the group winner will advance to the tournament, with four matches remaining.