FIFA’s probe exposes fake birth claims in Malaysia’s naturalised footballers scandal

KUALA LUMPUR – Football’s global governing body Fifa on Oct 6 released its grounds for the suspension of seven foreign-born Malaysian footballers, exposing significant discrepancies in the documents submitted by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

In a letter – addressed to the FAM and the seven naturalised players – seen by The Straits Times, Fifa said it found that the grandparents of the players had been born in Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the Netherlands, and not in Malaysia.

This revelation further complicates Malaysia’s aim to qualify for the Asian Cup ahead of their away match with Laos on Oct 9, with the seven players not named in the squad due to the suspension.

The FAM has in response said that it would continue to appeal against the punishment.

It said the depiction presented in Fifa’s decision was inaccurate, and an official appeal is being prepared.

The association also stressed that the heritage players are legitimate Malaysian citizens.

“The committee wished to highlight that it concurred with the conclusion of the investigatory reports, specifically, that the original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the documentation provided,” said Jorge Palacio, deputy chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee, in the decision attached with the letter.

The seven players are: Spain-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces and Jon Irazabal; Netherlands-born Hector Hevel; Argentina-born Rodrigo Holgado and Imanol Machuca; and Brazil-born Joao Figueiredo.

Fifa had on Sept 26 fined the FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (S$567,000), while each of the seven players was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and banned from all football-related activities for 12 months.

Complaints were lodged against Malaysia for allegedly using “doctored documentation” to select the seven players in the squad for the Asian Cup qualifier with Vietnam on June 10, which they won 4-0. Five of the seven started the match.

The drubbing was Malaysia’s first win against Vietnam in a decade. They may now have to forfeit the match, a result that would reverberate over the region.

According to Fifa, FAM had claimed that the grandparents of the seven had been born in places including Melaka, Penang, Johor and Sarawak.

Fifa’s investigations, however, gathered copies of the original birth certificates of the grandparents that contradicted the claims.

For example, Garces’ grandfather – Carlos Rogelio Fernandez – was said to have been born in Penang, but Fifa said his original birthplace was actually Villa Maria Selva in Santa Fe de la Cruz, Argentina.

Similarly, Hevel’s grandfather – Hendrik Jan Hevel – was allegedly born in Melaka, but was found to have been born in The Hague in the Netherlands.

Under Fifa rules, a naturalised player must not only hold a valid national passport, but also meet eligibility criteria. These include having a biological parent or a grandparent born in the country, or having lived there continuously for at least five years after the age of 10.

Such rules are to prevent the abusive practice of “nationality shopping”, where a football association seeks players who have been overlooked in their home countries by offering them a financial incentive and new citizenship.

Fifa’s committee also noted that Malaysia’s National Registration Department (NRD) never received the original birth certificates, and had issued its own copies based on secondary information and foreign documents from Argentina, Brazil and Spain.

“The NRD further admitted that it could not retrieve the original handwritten records and therefore issued official copies based on evidence that a birth had occurred.

“This admission, so finds the committee, indicates that the Malaysian government’s validation process may not have been based on original documents, which calls into question the thoroughness of FAM’s verification process,” Palacio wrote.

The FAM, in a statement on Oct 7, confirmed it had received Fifa’s grounds of its decision. The FAM announced that it would continue its appeal through official legal channels.

“The association strongly denied that players deliberately sought to circumvent eligibility rules,” it said.

The FAM emphasised that all documents and supporting evidence were submitted in line with Malaysian procedures and that the players acted in good faith, relying on its verification and registration process.

It also noted that the case involves sensitive government procedures for issuing and validating documentation, which are legally protected under Malaysian law.

In a Facebook post on Oct 7, Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh urged the FAM to complete its appeal and called on Malaysians to continue backing the team in the match with Laos on Oct 9.

“FAM cannot remain silent and must respond clearly to all the revelations made by Fifa. Local football supporters feel hurt, angry and disappointed,” Ms Yeoh posted.

The FAM had in 2018 set out to recruit naturalised or “heritage players” to improve the national team’s performance, in a bid to follow Indonesia’s success with its Dutch diaspora.

In March that year, Malaysia were 178th in the Fifa rankings. They have since climbed up the ladder and are currently 123rd.

Since 2018, the national team have included several naturalised players who are popular with fans. Among them are Belgium-raised captain Dion Cools, UK-born La’Vere Corbin-Ong and Stuart Wilkin, Australia-born Matthew Davies and Finland-born Nooa Laine. All of them have at least one Malaysian parent.

Other national team players were naturalised after a long career in the local league, such as Gambia-born Mohamadou Sumareh, Brazil-born Paulo Josue and Argentina-born Sergio Aguero.

There is no limit to how many naturalised players in a national team can be on the pitch at any one time.

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