No wonder he was severely punished by FIFA, and the Malaysian media also "knows nothing" about the background of naturalized players

Malaysian media "know nothing" about the background of naturalized players

After several naturalized players were caught in a scandal forgery of documents, Malaysian media began to question their true background.

FIFA announced on September 26 that it would impose a 12-month ban on seven Malaysian naturalized players. The seven people are: Gabriel Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Iraurgui and Hector Hevel. After FIFA announced the penalty decision, Malaysia's Malay Mail quickly followed up and reexamined the background of the players. What is particularly noteworthy is that the newspaper cannot even confirm the true origin of offensive midfielder Hector Heville.

reported: "There is no detailed information about the player's career and background."

Haiville was at the Malaysian national team debut ceremony.

This statement immediately sparked heated discussion on social media. Many Malaysian fans are angry and believe that even their own media cannot find out the background of naturalized players, which is really unacceptable.

A fan commented: "The FA Malaysia (FAM) is destroying its own football career." Another netizen said: "There are too many dark stories about the issue of naturalized players. No one can say whether these people really have Malaysian blood."

Another player who caused controversy is defender Gabriel Arocha. The Malay Mail pointed out: "He claims to have Malaysian ancestry, but the specific details have not been made public so far and are under investigation."

Faquento Garces, who currently plays for the Alaves club in La Liga, caused controversy over his background issues as early as August this year. At that time, he said that the reason why he was qualified to represent Malaysia was because his "grandfather" came from Malaysia.

However, after widespread public doubt, Garces quickly clarified that it was a translation error and that the truth was that "the ancestral home connection came from the great-grandfather, not the grandfather."

Garces' statement about his Malaysian ancestry is inconsistent and has caused chaos.

What is more interesting is that Galces has gained a strong push in the process of naturalization. According to the Malay Mail, the 26-year-old central defender quickly gained Malaysian nationality on June 2 and made his debut in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam just a few days later.

In addition, two players, Machua and Irauji, claimed that "the mother had lived in Sabah." The naturalized player Joao Felicidi from Brazil was accused of "grandmother from Nepalmán."

After receiving the FIFA penalty decision, the FA Malaysia (FAM) stated that it would appeal and insisted that the entire naturalization process "strictly follows the relevant FIFA regulations". However, FIFA's formal ruling still has serious doubts about the legitimacy of these players' naturalized materials.

This naturalization scandal not only put the Malaysian FA into a public opinion storm, but also seriously damaged the reputation and credibility of the Malaysian national team in the international arena.