Malaysian expert voices criticism towards numerous naturalized players

Football expert Datuk Dr. Pekan Ramli believes that the seven Malaysian naturalized players involved in illegal registration must take responsibility for their violations, viewing this as a costly lesson for regional football.

Amid calls for the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the seven central players implicated in the eligibility scandal ruled by FIFA remain completely silent, and this silence speaks volumes.

Datuk Dr. Pekan Ramli states that the incident exposes significant gaps in FAM's player eligibility verification process, while also raising questions about the awareness of the involved players.

“Do they truly understand the risks when agreeing to represent Malaysia, or were they simply attracted by the honor of international play? If FIFA has clear evidence that their grandparents are not Malaysian, then the players must be held accountable. If they knew and stayed silent, this is an inevitable consequence,” Dr. Pekan questioned.

He emphasized that this punishment should serve as a warning lesson for anyone seeking shortcuts to become a national team player.

“There is no easy path in professional football. Any deceitful actions must be penalized”, he added.

Besides losing the chance to play internationally, these seven players also face serious damage to their reputations. Many experts believe their careers could be frozen for at least a year, with a difficult road to full recovery.

“This case severely damages their credibility in the international football community and directly affects their future contract negotiations,” Dr. Pekan remarked.

However, the expert also left room for redemption: “If they dare to confront the issue honestly and humbly, domestic clubs might still offer them a chance to restart”

The group of players including Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Hector Hevel, Facundo Garces, and Gabriel Palmero have been banned by FIFA for one year due to violations of national representation rules.

FIFA’s penalty not only hits the players hard but also affects their foreign clubs, which now lose key players mid-season. Some sources say these clubs are considering demanding compensation or suing FAM for personnel losses.

If this happens, FAM will face not only a reputation crisis but also serious financial risks, a consequence stemming from Malaysia football’s biggest shock in years.