Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven national team players have been hit with significant sanctions by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee after being found guilty of breaching Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) on forgery and falsification.
The case stems from doctored documentation submitted by FAM in eligibility enquiries to FIFA, which allowed the players to be fielded in Malaysia’s AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualifiers. The issue came to light after Malaysia’s match against Vietnam on 10 June 2025, when a complaint was lodged regarding the eligibility of several players.
The Sanctioned Players
- Gabriel Palmero
- Facundo Garcés
- Rodrigo Holgado
- Imanol Machuca
- João Figueiredo
- Jon Irazábal
- Hector Hevel
All seven have been fined CHF 2,000 each and suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months, effective immediately.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has been fined CHF 350,000 by FIFA for its role in submitting falsified documentation.
FIFA confirmed that the matter of the players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia has been referred to the FIFA Football Tribunal for further consideration.
Both FAM and the players were formally notified of the sanctions today. Under FDC provisions, they have ten days to request a motivated decision, which if requested, will be published on legal.fifa.com. The decision may also be subject to an appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
Credit Photo : Simon Yap/SNE-Photo
