Malaysian football and the ‘hard-earned lesson’ from Timor Leste

10/10/2025 19:56:00 VictoryVox

The naturalized player scandal involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is being likened to the infamous Timor-Leste case — a costly lesson that still serves as a warning to Asian football federations about governance weaknesses.

In 2016, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) expelled Timor-Leste from the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers after uncovering 12 Brazilian-born players who represented the national team using forged documents between 2011 and 2015. The AFC annulled all match results involving ineligible players, fined the Timor-Leste federation, and banned several officials involved.

A panoramic view of the Football Association of Malaysia headquarters (Wisma FAM) in Kelana Jaya. Photo: NST

"The AFC maintains a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on the use of ineligible players," stated the AFC press release on December 20, 2016. "Member associations are responsible for ensuring all players meet eligibility criteria set by AFC and FIFA."

Initially, Timor-Leste denied any wrongdoing and appealed the AFC’s decision. However, after failing to convince FIFA, they cooperated with investigations, restructured their administration, and implemented a new verification system for player eligibility.

The entire process — from the AFC’s initial investigation in 2015 to FIFA’s sanctions approval in 2018 — spanned nearly three years. Currently, FAM faces a similar challenge.

On September 25, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee fined FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (about 1.9 million RM) and imposed a 12-month ban on seven players: Facundo Garcés, Imanol Machuca, Héctor Hevel, Gabriel Palmero, Rodrigo Holgado, João Figueiredo, and Jon Irazabal — accused of providing misleading information about their eligibility to represent Malaysia. Each player was also fined 2,000 Swiss francs.

According to FIFA’s 19-page disciplinary report released in October, FAM registered naturalized players "without fully verifying" their genuine ties to Malaysia, especially regarding residency and nationality documentation.

Acting FAM President Datuk Yusoff Mahadi said the federation was "shocked" by FIFA’s ruling but would appeal through all legal channels.

"We respect the disciplinary process but believe these players’ citizenships were legally granted under Malaysian law. We are confident the appeal will clarify the misunderstanding," Yusoff stated last week.

He also revealed that FAM has begun an internal audit of its player registration procedures, viewing this as a "bitter yet necessary governance lesson."

A FAM official told Bernama that the appeal would focus on the legal basis of citizenship and the documentation process at Malaysia’s National Registration Department.

AFC Secretary General Datuk Windsor Paul, speaking to NST on September 30, said AFC "is monitoring the situation" and will only act "after FIFA’s appeal process is complete."

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