Malaysia’s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told parliament that the government had followed the law and naturalised the seven players based on a provision in Malaysia’s constitution.
A Malaysia minister has defended the government’s move in granting citizenship to seven foreign-born footballers, saying the matter is to be settled between the country’s football federation and world body FIFA, even as public sentiments remain negative over the brewing scandal.
FIFA said this week that it had found evidence indicating that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) used forged or falsified birth certificates of the seven players’ grandparents to secure their eligibility to play for the national team.
On Thursday (Oct 9), Malaysia’s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told parliament that the government had followed the law and naturalised the seven players based on a provision in Malaysia’s constitution.
He said that the birth certificates of the players’ grandparents were not needed for the naturalisation.
The players had met the relevant conditions to get citizenship, including having proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia based on a basic test by the National Registration Department (NRD).
He acknowledged he had used his ministerial discretion to relax some conditions – in particular a requirement for an applicant to have resided in Malaysia for a set period of time – adding that he has such powers under the constitution.
Saifuddin did not address allegations that officials had failed to verify the authenticity of the documents submitted.
“The issue of player eligibility is a matter between FAM and FIFA, which is currently being managed at the appeal stage,” he said.
He added that a total of 23 football players – including the seven – had been naturalised since 2018 and that athletes from other sports and professionals in the fields of science and technology had also similarly obtained citizenship.
This is the second time Saifuddin has spoken out on the scandal involving the seven players born in Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain and Argentina.
Following FIFA’s initial announcement on Sep 26 on its decision to fine FAM 350,000 Swiss franc (US$437,000) and ban the seven players for a year, Saifuddin had said the next day that the process of granting citizenship to these players had complied with the Federal Constitution.
Describing it as a “very thorough” process, he said his ministry examines all documents submitted to ensure they meet every requirement under the law.
He had also said then that the matter was under the purview of FIFA and FAM, and that the Home Ministry’s focus was “strictly on citizenship matters”.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, meanwhile, had said on Sep 27 that she was “saddened and angry” reading about FIFA’s decision.
After its disciplinary committee published its grounds of decision on Oct 6 and revealed the birth certificate forgery, she said that FAM must respond clearly to all the revelations made by FIFA, adding Malaysian football fans are “hurt, angry and disappointed”.
Indeed, the scandal has made waves in the football-mad country, with fans and critics who spoke to CNA calling for thorough investigations into how the players were granted citizenship.
They have also raised questions about how it has been handled and Malaysia’s policy to rely on foreign-born players.
Sports critic Pekan Ramli told CNA that Saifuddin’s explanation in parliament on Thursday lacked conviction, and he was unsure if football fans could accept it.
“There are still many unanswered questions about the whole issue,” he said.
Meanwhile, social media posts by FAM have been met with a wave of negative comments, while memes have proliferated, making fun of the situation.
One viral meme shows a map of Malaysia with its states humorously replaced by the European and South American countries, while another displays a map of South America, with the countries relabeled with the names of Malaysian states.
WHAT EX-PLAYER AND FANS SAY
A football fan who only wanted to be known as Khairul said he has read FIFA’s grounds of decision, and he feels disappointed after the euphoria of victory against Vietnam.
The civil servant had attended the game at the Bukit Jalil Nasional Stadium on Jun 10, where Malaysia had beaten its regional rival 4-0 in an Asian Cup qualifying game.
All seven players featured in the game, with two of them scoring one goal each.
“I was very happy that day. But with all the facts laid out, it was clearly a case of cheating. I am not sad or angry, but I feel betrayed,” said Khairul.
The seven players implicated are Argentina-born Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca; Spain-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui; Dutch-born Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano and Brazil-born Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo.
“It’s okay if we naturalise players but not by falsifying documents and cheating,” said Khairul, adding that he had no issues with the naturalisation of players such as Dion Cools or Matthew Davies, who were eligible to play for Malaysia because of their mothers’ Malaysian lineage.
“We are still not good enough for the World Cup. We should stick to our level. Playing against Indonesia is our World Cup. This is not championship manager or fantasy football, where you can buy players on your whim,” he added.
The FIFA decision has also triggered bewilderment and horror for James Wong Chye Fook, who for decades embodied the golden era of Malaysian football where the team could compete with the likes of Japan and South Korea.
Wong, 72, is best remembered for scoring the winning goal against South Korea in April 1980 in a qualifying match — a victory that secured a berth in the Moscow Olympics, which Malaysia subsequently boycotted.
In those days, all of his teammates were Malaysian-born. These days, critics suggest the national squad’s high number of naturalised players makes it resemble a European or South American team.
Wong, who is known as “King James” in Malaysia, said that times have changed but is puzzled why national teams go down this route instead of developing their own players to earn success.
“I know we want to build a better team, but do we have to go this far to do this?” said Wong, who described FIFA’s forgery findings as “horrifying”.
The days when Malaysia could go toe to toe with Japan and South Korea are a distant memory, with Malaysia experiencing many devastating lows over the last few decades. In 2018, it was placed 178th on FIFA’s rankings, its lowest ever.
That year, the FAM introduced a controversial policy of giving foreign-born players citizenship. It also called up more mixed-heritage players to the national team. This marked a major turning point, observers previously told CNA.
Naturalised players are foreign-born footballers who have no connection to the country but get citizenship, while mixed-heritage players have a bloodline connection with the country, be it through a parent or a grandparent who was a citizen.
As Malaysia’s use of naturalised and mixed-heritage players increased, it qualified for the 2023 Asian Cup, the first time it did so on merit since 1980.
It even managed a 3-3 draw with a strong South Korean side in its final group game, a result which was widely celebrated.
But the side experienced a blip in 2024 as it failed to qualify for the third round of the qualifiers of the 2026 World Cup.
In January this year, the regent of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim said on social media that six to seven heritage players have been identified for the national team, as he expressed hope that the Malaysian government could assist in the process of obtaining Malaysian passports in order for them to play for Malaysia in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.
He did not name the players but added: “It’s crucial Harimau Malaya starts the campaign on a good note.”
Harimau Malaya is a nickname of the Malaysian national team.
The crown prince owns Johor Darul Ta’zim, the club that three of the seven players – Figueiredo, Irazabal and Hevel – play for.
WAKE-UP CALL
Fans and observers have also raised questions about a finding in FIFA’s report that said that Malaysia’s NRD – in a statement filed by FAM – confirmed that the Malaysian authorities “never received the original birth certificates” of the players’ grandparents.
Instead, the NRD issued its own copies based on secondary information and foreign documents from Argentina, Brazil and Spain.
FIFA said “this admission … indicates that the Malaysian government’s validation process may not have been based on original documents, which calls into question the thoroughness of FAM’s verification process”.
Sports critic Pekan Ramli said Malaysian authorities should investigate this further, especially as it pertains to the granting of citizenship and passports to the players.
“Was anyone pressured to do something they were not supposed to do,” he said.
“The person responsible should own up and take the blame. Don’t play the victim card and blame anyone else for this.”
FIFA said that disciplinary proceedings were opened against the FAM and the players on Aug 22 and Aug 28, respectively.
Then-FAM president Joehari Ayub resigned from his position on Aug 27, although no reasons were given for his move.
Just after FIFA came up with its initial decision on Sep 26, Tunku Ismail questioned why FIFA had approved the players’ eligibility and to reverse it now.
“What led to such a decision? Was there any external party that influenced FIFA’s decision?” he asked.
“We will not be afraid or surrender to individuals who fear the resurgence of Harimau Malaya,” he said in a posting on X on Sep 27.
Tunku Ismail has yet to comment on FIFA’s grounds of judgment.
Zulakbal Abd Karim, a sports science and coaching lecturer at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Malaysia, said that FIFA would not have come up with its decision lightly.
“After beating Vietnam 4-0, we thought that we had a good team, but this has turned out to be an ultimate disaster. It’s better to lose than to win by cheating. The image of the country has been badly tarnished,” he told CNA.
Khairul, the football fan, said he will still support the national team no matter what and will still tune in to the team’s away match against Laos on Thursday, as part of the Asian Cup qualifiers.
