According to Malaysian media, Garces is one of seven players who were fined and banned from playing for 12 months by FIFA for using fake documents in the process of applying for Malaysian citizenship. However, Alaves' leaders have insists the player has no direct fault.
President Alfonso Fernandez stated: "This is an issue beyond the scope of the club, it is his personal matter. Of course it affected us because we couldn't use him. However, we still believe in the players and in the principle of guessing innocence."
This statement is seen as a reassuring move for Garces as his future is being severely affected. The player born in 1999 could not play and the teams that had expressed their intention to recruit him all withdrew after the penalty took effect.
Along with Garces, 6 other players including Gabriel Palmero, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel were also given similar penalties. They are considering suing the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to demand compensation for loss of income during the ban.
FAM in its explanation to FIFA said the error stemmed from "technical errors of staff when submitting documents". However, this was not enough to help the group of players escape the sentence or restore their contracts. Meanwhile, Gabriel Palmero has been terminated by Tenerife, while Rodrigo Holgado is at the same risk at America de Cali.
In contrast to his peers, facundo Garces still receive the trust of Deportivo Alaves - one of the few European teams that decided not to turn their backs on their players in the midst of a scandal.
