Playing for Malaysia, 7 players face priceless consequences

The document fraud scandal caused seven naturalized Malaysian players to receive a 12-month suspension from FIFA, wiping out their value and plunging Malaysian football into a deep crisis.

Malaysian football is shaken as seven naturalized national team players are banned by FIFA for 12 months due to falsifying nationality documents. As a result, the transfer values of all seven players have dropped to zero, according to the latest update from Transfermarkt.

Before the scandal broke, this group of players was valued at millions of euros, but now all their profiles on Transfermarkt have been stripped of any value. The biggest loser is Imanol Machuca, the winger who was once worth 2.5 million euros but now holds no transfer value.

Striker Joao Figueirido from Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) also lost 2.01 million euros, while center-back Facundo Garces lost 1.01 million euros. Three other players—Jon Irazabal (603,000 euros), Rodrigo Holgado (454,000 euros), and Hector Hevel (401,000 euros)—all saw their values vanish. Meanwhile, Gabriel Palmero, valued lowest at 50,000 euros, was also affected.

In addition to the 12-month playing ban, each player was fined 2,200 euros by FIFA for violating Article 22 of FIFA’s disciplinary code related to falsifying personal documents.

Not only the players, but the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) was also penalized with a fine of 378,000 euros and had three international friendlies against Cape Verde, Singapore, and Palestine forfeited 0-3.

Consequently, Malaysia fell 5 spots in the FIFA rankingsfrom 116th to 121st, ending an unbeaten streak throughout 2025. FAM has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but experts believe the chance of reducing the sanction is very slim.

This scandal is considered one of the biggest shocks in Malaysian football history, severely damaging the national team’s image and shaking fans’ trust in FAM’s strategy of using naturalized players.