Speaking to Aire Digital today (November 5), Mr. Iparraguirre stated that FIFA views Malaysia’s fraudulent naturalization case as a landmark decision. It serves as a cautionary tale for other federations to prevent similar fraudulent activities in the future.
Lawyer Carlos Iparraguirre believes the verdict against FAM is highly embarrassing (Photo: VFF).
The lawyer emphasized: “This is a clear and blatant violation. FIFA takes this matter seriously and considers it an example to deter other nations. FIFA’s report is truly embarrassing.”
According to Mr. Iparraguirre, the investigation was launched after the involved players competed in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers against Vietnam in June. The seven illegally naturalized players were Jon Irazabal, Joao Figueiredo, Hector Hevel, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces, and Gabriel Palmero.
After verification, FIFA concluded that none of them had legitimate blood ties to Malaysia and that the documents provided by FAM were forged.
FIFA is using Malaysia’s fraud case as a precedent to deter other federations (Photo: NST).
As a result, FIFA upheld the penalties against FAM and the seven naturalized players. FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss Francs (approximately 11.5 billion VND), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss Francs (about 66 million VND) and received a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.
However, according to the Argentine lawyer, FAM’s chances of overturning the verdict by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) are almost zero, making the future of the players and Malaysian football bleak.
He added: “Perhaps the players were not fully aware of the seriousness of this action. The situation between them and their clubs can only be resolved according to internal regulations, but this clearly provides a strong basis for determining that they violated their contracts.”
FIFA stated that FAM has 10 days to request the detailed decision and an additional 21 days to officially file an appeal with CAS if they wish to pursue the matter further.
