On November 3, the FIFA Appeals Committee rejected all appeals from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and 7 players involved in the fake naturalization document case. The accompanying statement detailed the application and passport issuance timelines for the group of players. This information raised suspicions about irregularities in Malaysia’s naturalization application process.
On page 7 of the document, FIFA listed the dates when the 7 players submitted their applications for Malaysian nationality, which occurred in March and June. Specifically: Gabriel Palmero submitted his application on March 17. Hector Hevel submitted on March 18. Facundo Garces submitted on June 1. Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, and Jon Irazabal all submitted on June 3.
More notably, FIFA stated that five players — Hevel, Holgado, Machuca, Figueiredo, and Irazabal — were all issued passports on the very day they submitted their applications, officially becoming Malaysian citizens within a few hours.
The document on page 8 clearly states that Hevel received his passport on March 18, Holgado, Machuca, Figueiredo, and Irazabal all had passports dated June 3. Palmero was issued his passport one day later, on March 18. The longest wait was for Garces, who took two days, receiving his on June 3.
In its November 3 decision, the FIFA Appeals Committee upheld the penalties and called for a deeper investigation into FAM’s internal procedures.
The report specified that FAM had submitted documents to FIFA claiming that the grandparents of these seven players were born in Malaysian territory. However, upon cross-referencing civil records from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and the Netherlands, FIFA confirmed that all information submitted by FAM was false. All players’ grandparents were born abroad.
The Appeals Committee also rejected the arguments from FAM and the group of players that they acted in “good faith” and were “unaware of any discrepancies in the documents.”
Previously in September, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee had decided to fine FAM 350,000 CHF (approximately 11.5 billion VND). Each player was fined 2,000 CHF (approximately 66 million VND) and banned from participating in football activities for 12 months.
The incident has shaken Malaysian football and could lead to more significant consequences, as FIFA has called for further investigation into systematic violations in the naturalization application vetting process. After FIFA rejected its appeal, FAM stated that it would take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
