FIFA accuses Malaysia of falsifying documents in order to register players who are not qualified from other countries

FIFA refers to Malaysia’s falsified birth certificates for seven players who were born outside of the country as “pure and simple cheating.”

In what it called a willful act of fraud, FIFA has accused Malaysia of fabricating citizenship credentials to allow seven foreign-born players to play for the national team.

After deciding to punish and suspend the players in question in late September, the world football governing body published its findings in a report on Monday.

FIFA claims that in order to fabricate the players’ grandparents’ Malaysian birth, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) falsified birth documents. This “constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating,” the organization stated.

However, FAM denied the charge, claiming that the differences were the consequence of a “administrative error” and promising to challenge FIFA’s ruling. The players were “legitimate Malaysian citizens,” it insisted.

FIFA’s “grandfather rule,” which prohibits countries from merely naturalizing international players to improve team performance, allows players born outside of a nation to represent it if their biological parents or grandparents were born there.

When concerns about the eligibility of a number of players surfaced following Malaysia’s 4-0 victory against Vietnam in June, the investigation got underway.

FIFA’s disciplinary committee punished the seven players 2,000 Swiss francs ($2,500; £1,870) each and sidelined them for a year in September. Additionally, 350,000 Swiss francs ($440,000; £330,000) were penalized to the FAM.

Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinean-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, Dutch-born Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano, and Brazilian-born Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo are among the seven players mentioned in the study.

According to FIFA, its investigators were able to obtain the grandparents’ original birth certificates, which demonstrated that, contrary to what FAM claimed in the documents, the grandparents were born in Malaysian cities like Penang and Malacca, but in Argentina and Spain, which matched the players’ own birthplaces.

Malaysia’s reputation has been harmed by FIFA’s conclusions, according to Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh. According to state news agency Bernama, she stated at a press conference on Tuesday, “I also understand that all local football fans are naturally angry, disappointed, and want to see improvements.”

Yeoh went on to say that the ministry would not respond formally until after FAM’s appeal was resolved.

This week, Malaysia will play Laos in an Asian Cup qualifying match, but the squad will be severely thinned out without the seven suspended players.