Malaysia insists naturalised players met all conditions

Malaysia on Oct 9 defended a decision to naturalise seven members of its national football team in a rapidly widening scandal after Fifa suspended the players over the alleged use of doctored documentation.

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The Fifa disciplinary committee said this week that it had found evidence indicating that Malaysian authorities may have relied on forged documents to naturalise mixed-heritage players Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

The committee said Fifa was able to obtain original birth certificates that showed significant discrepancies compared with those submitted by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to show the players' Malaysian lineage.

The fact that Fifa was able to obtain the original documents suggested the FAM and the players "did not exercise the necessary level of scrutiny or care", the disciplinary committee said.

The FAM has said it will appeal against the committee's decision.