Seven naturalised Malaysian players cleared to return to club football
The players completed their sanctions on 1 November 2026, but remain unable to represent Malaysia without proving their naturalisation documents are valid.
Seven naturalised Malaysian footballers can resume playing for their clubs after completing FIFA sanctions on 1 November 2026, CNN Indonesia reported. Their rights as professional players have been restored.
The players are Facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca, Rodrigo Halgado, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Joao Figueireido and Hector Hevel. Garces is registered with Spain's Alaves, while Machuca plays for Independiente in Argentina. Irazabal, Palmero, Figueireido and Hevel are registered with Johor Darul Ta'zim.
For those playing in Malaysia, the Malaysian Football League continues to recognise them as domestic players with naturalised status. The Malaysian government maintains that all seven obtained citizenship legally.
However, the end of their club-playing restrictions does not make them eligible for Malaysia's national team. FIFA does not recognise their eligibility, and they must demonstrate that their naturalisation documents are valid before they can represent the country.
FIFA's disciplinary committee ruled on 26 September 2025 that Malaysia had submitted false or invalid documents when registering the seven players. The players were each banned from football activities for 12 months and fined Rp44 million.
On 5 March 2026, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the Football Association of Malaysia's appeal against FIFA's sanctions. The court left the ban in place but reduced the restriction on football activities.
