FIFA has opened a formal investigation into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) following the suspension of seven naturalised players for allegedly using forged documents to qualify for the national team.
The seven players—Facundo Garces, Gabriel Arrocha, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—were banned for 12 months after FIFA found “significant discrepancies” in the birth certificates submitted by FAM to claim Malaysian lineage.
As part of the investigation, FIFA aims to:
- Identify who in FAM was responsible for the falsification of documents
- Evaluate the adequacy of FAM’s internal compliance and governance systems
- Decide whether further disciplinary action should be taken against FAM officials
They has also referred the case to criminal authorities in multiple countries, including Malaysia, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and the Netherlands.
In response to the scandal, FAM suspended its secretary-general, Noor Azman Rahman, and established an independent committee to investigate. The association has denied wrongdoing, calling the issue an “administrative error” and plans to appeal FIFA’s decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
They previously imposed a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (about US$439,000) on FAM for the incident.
The investigation underscores serious concerns about the integrity of national team documentation and could lead to further sanctions if governance failures are confirmed.
