FIFA bans seven Malaysian players for 12 months after doctored docs

Zurich — FIFA's Disciplinary Committee on Friday suspended seven Malaysia national team players for 12 months and fined the Football Association of Malaysia 350,000 Swiss francs after finding that the association submitted doctored documents to naturalize the players for a 4-0 Asia Cup qualifying win over Vietnam in June, the governing body said.

FIFA said it began the investigation after receiving a complaint about the eligibility of several players who appeared in the June match. The committee found Malaysia in breach of Article 22 of FIFA's Disciplinary Code, which addresses forgery and falsification, and ordered the national body to pay the fine. Each of the seven players was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and handed a 12-month ban from all football-related activities, FIFA added. The players named by FIFA included Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano. Some reports used a different spelling for the first player, naming him Gabriel Palermo.

FIFA said the players' eligibility to continue representing Malaysia will be reviewed by its Players'...