Malaysian naturalized player faces the saddest outcome possible

Gabriel Palmero, a Malaysian naturalized player involved in illegal naturalization, has had his contracts terminated by both his loan club and parent club.

The consequences of FIFA's 12-month ban on seven veteran Malaysian players have started to become apparent. Left-back Gabriel Palmero is currently unemployed after two clubs consecutively announced the termination of his contracts.

After FIFA rejected the appeal from the Malaysian Football Association regarding the seven illegally naturalized players including Gabriel Palmero, the Spanish third division club Unionistas de Salamanca and his parent club, Club Deportivo Tenerife, declared the end of both his loan and official contracts.

"Unionistas de Salamanca has reached an agreement with Club Deportivo Tenerife to terminate Gabriel Palmero's loan contract following FIFA's announcement on September 25 and the player's appeal being dismissed on November 3," the club stated in an official announcement on November 7.

"This agreement incurs no financial cost to the club. Unionistas de Salamanca wishes to thank the player for his dedication during his time in Salamanca."

Tenerife also announced that Palmero's contract with the club ended on November 7. Tenerife stated on their official X account: "Both Palmero's loan contract with Unionistas de Salamanca and his contractual relationship with Club Deportivo Tenerife ended on November 7."

Palmero is among seven players banned by FIFA for falsifying documents to represent Malaysia at the international level. The other banned players are Rodrigo Holgado, Facundo Garces, Jon Irazabal, Joao Figueiredo, Hector Hevel, and Imanol Machuca.

On November 3, FIFA rejected the appeals of the seven players and upheld all penalties, including a 12-month suspension and a fine of 2,000 Swiss francs for each. Previously, Colombian club America de Cali was reportedly in the process of terminating the contract of Holgado, the Argentine player, following FIFA's suspension order.

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