On the evening of October 31, a British magazine said that the World Football Association (FIFA) had not yet issued a decision on the appeal of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) regarding the illegal naturalization of 7 players.
Previously, on September 26, FIFA imposed a heavy penalty on FAM after determining that players Rodrigo Holgado, Joao figueiredo, Imanol Machuca, Jon Irazabal, Hector Hevel, Gabriel Palmero and facundo Garces had their birth certificates forged, in order to meet the naturalization conditions to play for the Malaysian national team.
FAM filed the appeal on October 15 and was expected to receive the results on October 30, but there was no official announcement from FIFA by the evening of October 31.
According to the magazine, FIFA's Appeal Committee has decided to postpone the verdict to review the evidence and adjust some details in the penalty. This agency requested FAM to supplement information about the ancestral origin of the players to authenticate the naturalization documents.
A FAM official said the incident was large-scale, affecting the reputation of Malaysian football, so FIFA applied a cautious approach to ensure accuracy.
Another source confirmed that FIFA does not want to make a hasty decision, because the outcome of the incident could set a precedent for future naturalization cases.
While awaiting the verdict, FAM still faces public pressure and internal investigations. The FAM General Secretary has been suspended from work to serve the investigation process of the incident.
If the appeal is rejected, Malaysia is at risk of being further sanctioned by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), including the possibility of canceling the results of matches with the participation of this group of naturalized players.
