The world football governing body, FIFA, has imposed a 12-month suspension on seven Malaysian national team players and fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) 350,000 Swiss francs ($440,000) over eligibility issues in an Asia Cup qualifier.
The Offending Match
The disciplinary committee found that the FAM had doctored documentation to field ineligible players during Malaysia’s 4-0 victory over Vietnam in June. The affected players are:
– Gabriel Felipe Arrocha
– Facundo Tomas Garces
– Rodrigo Julian Holgado
– Imanol Javier Machuca
– Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo
– Jon Irazabal Iraurgui
– Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano
Sanctions
Each player has been fined 2,000 Swiss francs and banned from all football-related activities for one year. The FAM has been fined 350,000 Swiss francs ($440,000) for violating FIFA regulations.
FAM’s Response
The FAM has announced plans to challenge the decision through legal channels, maintaining that the players and the association acted in good faith and with full transparency. “FAM would like to emphasize that the players involved, and FAM itself, have acted in good faith and with full transparency throughout this process,” the association stated .
The FAM also pointed out that FIFA had previously reviewed and confirmed the eligibility of the players in question, adding that it is confident in its position and will pursue all available avenues to resolve the matter .
