FIFA bans seven Malaysia national team players for one year over naturalisation fraud. Details revealed
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
FIFA has found the Malaysia national team guilty of violating regulations related to the naturalisation of footballers.
Details: According to the Malaysian Football Association, seven players from the national team were caught using forged documents and have been handed a 12-month ban from all football-related activities.
The list of sanctioned players includes defenders Facundo Garcés, Gabriel Arrocha, and Jon Irazábal, midfielder Hector Serrano, as well as attacking players Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, and João Figueiredo. None of them were eligible to represent the national team, as they were born outside Malaysia and acquired citizenship unlawfully.
The Football Association of Malaysia has also been sanctioned and is required to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (around $438,000). Furthermore, FIFA is considering annulling the team’s results in the current Asian Cup qualifiers and possibly excluding them from the tournament.
After two rounds of the third stage of the Asian Cup qualifiers, Malaysia leads its group with six points.
Reminder: At the U-20 World Cup, FIFA is introducing the 'green card'.
