AFC Secretary General Officially Comments on Malaysia's Illegal Naturalization Case

Datuk Seri Windsor Paul, Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has shared official details about FIFA penalizing the Football Association of Malaysia and seven players for unauthorized naturalization.

On the evening of September 26, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee caused a stir by issuing penalties to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players for violating Article 22 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code concerning the falsification and forgery of registration documents.

According to FIFA’s announcement, the Malaysian Football Association submitted eligibility verification documents to FIFA which included altered paperwork to register 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. These players participated in the match between Malaysia and Vietnam during the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers held on June 10, 2025, at Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Recently, Datuk Seri Windsor Paul, AFC Secretary General and a Malaysian himself, spoke from his leadership position at AFC. He stated that the process is still ongoing and emphasized that no final decision has been made yet.

"Eligibility issues are not decided by AFC. This authority lies with FIFA, specifically the football tribunal. That decision has not yet been made. We are awaiting the tribunal’s meeting, which will take place soon,", the The Star (Malaysia) quoted him as saying.

"FAM can appeal. After the appeal, the case will be forwarded to the Appeals Committee. If they remain dissatisfied, the matter could even be taken to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). Until the entire judicial process is completed, no decisions have been finalized,"added Secretary General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul.

"This is similar to any judicial process. There is a disciplinary committee, then an appeals committee. If still unsatisfied, you can go to CAS. Until all these steps are completed, nothing is certain. We can only wait.

"FAM has declared it will appeal. Therefore, we hope the responsible bodies will make a swift decision because we do not want delays as the Asian Cup qualifiers approach," he concluded.

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