A prominent Malaysian journalist has recently asserted that the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) played a contributing role in the international football governing body, FIFA’s, decision to impose sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). These sanctions reportedly stem from irregularities concerning the falsification of naturalization documents for foreign players. This serious accusation has already begun to strain the relationship between the football federations of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Zulhelmi Zainal, a respected journalist for Astro Arena, brought these allegations to light through a post on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, which boasts over 50,000 followers. In his widely-read post, Zainal suggested that a neighboring regional country was actively involved in pushing for FIFA’s sanctions against Malaysian football. He further implied that this alleged involvement was driven by concerns over the improving competitive standard of the Malaysian national team, fearing its ascent. “Rumors suggest a neighboring foreign force is trying to undermine the Malaysian national team, fearing our rise,” Zainal wrote. “This force is known to have high-level connections with the leadership of the international football federation, FIFA.”
While Zainal’s comments were initially indirect, they have been widely interpreted as specifically pointing towards Indonesia. This interpretation is fueled by the known strong relationship between PSSI President Erick Thohir and top FIFA officials, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Zainal’s social media post has significantly escalated the existing tensions between the Malaysian and Indonesian football communities. Subsequently, a segment of Malaysian fans has openly accused the Indonesian Football Association of being involved in and behind the disciplinary actions taken against Malaysian football.
FIFA officially announced its sanctions against the Football Association of Malaysia on September 26. These penalties include a substantial fine of approximately $438,700 USD. Furthermore, seven naturalized football players representing Malaysia have been banned from all football activities for a period of 12 months, each also incurring an individual fine of $2,500 USD. These players were notably part of the Malaysian squad that secured a 4-0 victory against Vietnam in the final qualifying round for the 2027 Asian Cup. The specific players sanctioned by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for document falsification are Gabriel Palmero and Jon Irazabal (both originally from Spain), Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, and Imanol Machuca (all from Argentina), Joao Figueiredo (Brazil), and Hector Hevel (Netherlands).
The repercussions of these sanctions could be severe for Malaysia. The nation potentially faces the loss of its qualification spot for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. In addition, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) may retroactively award Vietnam a 3-0 victory and three points for the match they previously lost unfairly against Malaysia. This turn of events means the Vietnamese national team stands to directly benefit from FIFA’s disciplinary action against Malaysia, potentially altering the dynamics of their Asian Cup qualification path.
