On October 17, just one day after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) released evidence showing that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) falsified naturalization documents for a group of seven players—Gabriel Felipe, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—FAM ordered the suspension of its Secretary-General (SG) Datuk…
Tunku Ismail announced this decision on November 6, demonstrating his support for FAM and seven naturalized Malaysian players currently under FIFA sanctions. Tunku Ismail affirmed: “I will cover all appeal costs, without using Malaysian public funds.” Tunku Ismail, senior advisor to the Malaysian national football team, confirms funding appealThe senior advisor to the Malaysian national…
The 0-1 defeat of China’s U22 team against Vietnam’s U22 team on home turf at the Panda Cup 2025 has ignited a wave of fierce reactions. This was not merely a defeat in terms of the score, but also the culmination of a series of consecutive poor results for various Chinese national teams when facing…
According to FIFA regulations, players who have represented a national team or territory are no longer eligible to play for any other national team or territory. This means that once the group of seven players – Gabriel Felipe, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel – donned the Malaysia…
The first round of the 2025 Panda Cup concluded with a major upset, as China U22 lost to Vietnam U22 on home turf in Chengdu. This match not only disappointed Chinese fans but also sparked considerable debate about the performance of the nation’s young players. China U22 starting lineup before their match against Vietnam U22…
On the evening of November 9, Malaysian newspaper Harian Metro reported: “Overseas lawyers are negotiating with 7 naturalized Malaysian players to consider suing FAM.” Seven naturalized Malaysian football players who were banned by FIFA are considering suing the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for compensation. The 7 naturalized players mentioned are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado,…
Previously, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) failed in its appeal to FIFA. Seven naturalized Malaysian players, including Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel, had their one-year bans upheld by FIFA. Each player was additionally fined 2,000 Swiss francs (approximately 66 million VND). FAM was fined…
The second round of the Panda Cup friendly tournament in Chengdu yesterday (November 15) saw many notable developments. Despite a strong effort, U22 Vietnam suffered a 0-1 defeat to U22 Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, host nation U22 China caused a sensation by defeating U22 South Korea 2-0. U22 Vietnam's team in action during their 0-1 loss to…
After U22 China’s defeat to U22 Vietnam (on November 12), author Luo Zhanggui from Sina newspaper asserted that despite the host nation’s youth team not having its strongest lineup, it still featured many stars participating in the tournament in Chengdu: “In the opening match of the Pada Cup 2025, the U22 China team, despite missing…
Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John, General Secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), confirmed that the organization has no authority to intervene in the case where the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) rejected the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) appeal regarding a document forgery incident involving naturalized players. Although FIFA has issued official penalties…
