Malaysian football fans are anxiously waiting for the ruling of the World Football Federation (FIFA) - related to the disciplinary case of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for naturalizing 7 players in violation of regulations.
According to the original plan, FIFA will make a final decision on October 31. However, at that time, the highest agency in world football still had no official results. The British press said FIFA needed to verify some more concrete evidence.
According to Malaysian media, FIFA is expected to announce the final decision on FAM's appeal early next week, likely on Monday or Tuesday. This made Malaysian fans impatient.
The case began in September 2025 when FIFA fined FAM 350,000 CHF for forging documents to qualify for 7 naturalized players. These players include Imanol Machuca, Rodrigo Holgado, facundo Garces, Joao figueiredo, Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal and Gabriel Palmero. All 7 players were suspended from competition for 12 months and paid a fine of 2,000 CHF.
Recently, Velez Sarsfield (Argentina), Machuca's home team, expressed optimism that the appeal results will bring a positive signal.
Meanwhile, Malaysian football fans are constantly following information channels and social networks, hoping that FIFA will reduce or cancel the penalty so that the players can return to play soon.
The case is attracting special attention in Malaysia, because this penalty could directly affect the national team's preparation plan for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
