FIFA Suspends Seven Football Players Over Fake Documents

World football governing body, FIFA, has suspended seven Malaysia national team players for 12 months and fined the country’s football association 350,000 Swiss francs ($440,000) over forged documents used in an Asia Cup qualifier.

The disciplinary committee announced the sanctions on Friday after confirming that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) doctored documentation to field ineligible players during Malaysia’s 4-0 victory over Vietnam in June.

FIFA said the action followed a complaint regarding the eligibility of several players who featured in the match.

The affected players include Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.

They were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs and banned from all football-related activities for one year.

Reacting to the ruling, the FAM said it would challenge the decision through legal channels.

“FAM would like to emphasise that the players involved, and FAM itself, have acted in good faith and with full transparency throughout this process,” the association stated in Kuala Lumpur.

It added that FIFA had previously reviewed and confirmed the eligibility of the players in question.

“In fact, FIFA has previously reviewed the qualifications of the players and provided official confirmation that they are eligible to play for Malaysia,” the FAM maintained.

Naija News understands that Malaysia currently sit top of their 2027 Asia Cup qualifying group with six points from two matches, pending further action from FIFA.

Source: Naijanews