Malaysia's football scene is in turmoil as FIFA has upheld bans and imposed hefty fines against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven national team players following a "forged ancestry" scandal. The scandal revolves around the alleged falsification of documents to secure eligibility for foreign-born players to represent Malaysia.
FIFA's investigation revealed that FAM submitted falsified birth certificates of the players' grandparents, claiming Malaysian heritage that did not exist. The birthplaces were altered from countries like Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and the Netherlands to Malaysian states such as Penang, Melaka, and Sarawak. The world governing body alleges that FAM provided forged documents for seven foreign-born Malaysian players.
The FIFA disciplinary committee, chaired by Jorge Palacio, described the act as "pure and simple, a form of cheating". FAM has been fined CHF 350,000 (approximately RM1.9 million), and each of the seven players received a one-year suspension from all football-related activities and a fine of CHF 2,000 (approximately RM10,560).
The seven players implicated are Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, and Joao Figueiredo. These players featured in Malaysia's national team, with some even scoring goals in a 4-0 victory against Vietnam in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier in June 2025. This win is now under scrutiny and could potentially be overturned.
Further complicating the matter, Malaysia's National Registration Department (NRD) admitted to FIFA that it relied on secondary foreign documents instead of original birth certificates when verifying the players' ancestry. FIFA stated that the NRD "never received the original birth certificates". This admission has raised concerns about the thoroughness of FAM's verification process and the validation process of the Malaysian government.
FAM has denied any wrongdoing and intends to appeal FIFA's decision. They claim that FIFA provided no proof of forgery and that Malaysian secrecy laws prevent them from publicly releasing their evidence. However, FIFA maintains that the documents submitted by FAM were indeed forged and/or falsified.
The scandal has sparked widespread criticism of FAM's governance and verification processes. It has also raised questions about the naturalization process for players and the priorities of the Malaysian government regarding football. The incident has damaged Malaysia's reputation in international football and could jeopardize their 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign. FIFA is expanding the investigation to determine if this was a systematic issue, which could lead to further penalties.
