Indonesian fans exclaimed as Malaysia received a harsh ruling from FIFA

The Indonesian fan community erupted in response after FIFA announced a severe penalty against Malaysia for falsifying naturalization documents of seven players in the national team.

In the early hours of October 7 (Vietnam time), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) revealed a shocking investigation result, confirming that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) engaged in forging naturalization papers for seven foreign players. The list includes Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.

According to the documents provided by Malaysia, the group of players supposedly had grandparents born in Malaysia. However, after independent verification, FIFA confirmed that all original birth certificates clearly showed they were born in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain.

The issue peaked after the match between Malaysia and Vietnam during the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. FIFA also disclosed details about the naturalization application process and the date when the organization officially received the complaint on June 11, 2025.

Following this information, many Indonesian football fans expressed their opinions on social media:

A fan named Bayinul Mutaqin commented: "Malaysia is ridiculous, thinking Indonesia is as lenient as they are with naturalization. To truly naturalize in Indonesia, you must have some Indonesian bloodline, not just a grandparent born here. The process is complicated and time-consuming, not something you can finish quickly. Even Jairo was rejected because he only had ancestry from his great-grandparents, yet these people with no blood relation got naturalized as easily as buying players."

An account named Avid stated: "I once suspected and commented on the possibility that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) forged players' documents, and now it has been proven true."

Another fan expressed satisfaction: "Goodness, they even fabricated the grandparents’ details. Malaysia probably didn’t expect FIFA to be so thorough. FIFA surely checked the players' original country data and traced parents and grandparents' information. In developed countries, personal records are well-protected and archived; there’s no such thing as 'lost documents' as they claimed."

A fan named Jindo Riet said: "So the seven players punished by FIFA probably won’t be able to wear the Malaysian national team jersey anymore, right? I thought they’d just be suspended for a year from football activities and then return. But this case is serious; FAM really makes people shake their heads in disappointment."

Notably, FIFA decided to uphold the previously imposed penalty on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). After reviewing all documents, evidence, and arguments provided by FAM and the involved players, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee confirmed sufficient grounds to establish document forgery during the naturalization process.

However, FIFA did not specify whether the results of matches in which Malaysia used these players would be annulled, especially the controversial 4-0 victory against Vietnam.

According to regulations, decisions regarding match results fall under the jurisdiction of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), since the match was part of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Once FIFA’s decision takes effect, the AFC Disciplinary Committee will launch an independent investigation to comprehensively review the case before issuing a final ruling on sanctions for FAM.

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