The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players – Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano – for breaches of article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) concerning forgery and falsification.

The FAM had submitted eligibility enquiries to FIFA, and in doing so, it used doctored documentation to be able to field the above players.

All seven players played for Malaysia against Vietnam in the third round of qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 on 10 June 2025, after which FIFA received a complaint regarding the eligibility of Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.

Following regular proceedings, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee evaluated all evidence on file and has imposed the following sanctions:

The Football Association of Malaysia has been ordered to pay a fine of CHF 350,000 to FIFA.

The players Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano have each been ordered to pay a fine of CHF 2,000 to FIFA.

The aforementioned players have been further sanctioned with a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification of the decision.

Further, the matter of the players’ eligibility to play for the representative team of Malaysia has been referred by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to the FIFA Football Tribunal for consideration.

FAM and its players have been notified of the terms of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision today. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the FDC, they have ten days in which to request a motivated decision, which, if requested, would subsequently be published on legal.fifa.com. The decision remains subject to a potential appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee. (FIFA, but headline rejigged)