After many months of investigation and additional hearings in Miami (USA), FIFA has officially announced the final verdict related to the case of forging naturalization documents of 7 FAM players.
According to the announcement on the FIFA homepage on the evening of November 3 (Vietnam time), the FIFA Reprimand Committee has rejected all appeals from FAM and the players, and upheld the penalty from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
Accordingly, FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs, while 7 players including Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holcado, Imanol Secret Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano were each fined 2,000 francs and banned from all football activities for 12 months.
The verdict was made after the FIFA Appellate Committee reviewed all the evidence and held a direct hearing to clarify the act of forging records of origin to legalize conditions for international competition. FIFA had previously postponed the announcement of its conclusion in late October due to the need for more time to review evidence and explain from Malaysia.
This incident is considered the largest naturalization scandal in the history of Malaysian football, which could lead to serious consequences if the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continues to expand the investigation into the playing status of the above players at the 2027 Asian Cup.
