Jakarta, ThedailyID — Seven Malaysian naturalized footballers have officially completed their FIFA sanctions and can return to club football from November 1, 2026.
The players can now resume their professional careers after serving the penalties imposed over their naturalization cases.
They are Facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca, Rodrigo Holgado, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Joao Figueiredo, and Hector Hevel.
Garces currently plays for Alaves in Spain, while Machuca represents Independiente in Argentina. Holgado is expected to join Brunei-based DPMM in the Malaysian league.
Meanwhile, Irazabal, Palmero, Figueiredo, and Hevel play for Johor Darul Ta’zim. All four can now return to action for their respective clubs.
Malaysia’s football league, MFL, continues to recognize the players as naturalized domestic players. The Malaysian government has also maintained that their naturalization process was legally valid.
However, the players remain ineligible to represent the Malaysian national team under FIFA’s ruling. They would need to provide valid naturalization documents to regain eligibility.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee imposed sanctions on September 26, 2025. The committee found that Malaysia had used false or invalid documents in the registration process for the seven players.
The Football Association of Malaysia, or FAM, received a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to around Rp7.7 billion. Each player also received a 12-month ban from football activities and a fine of around Rp44 million.
On March 5, 2026, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected FAM’s appeal against FIFA’s sanctions. The ruling kept the main penalties in place, although CAS reduced the length of the activity ban.
