Alaves President: 'Garces is innocent'

Alaves president Alfonso Troconiz has affirmed his confidence in naturalized Malaysian midfielder Facundo Garces following his FIFA suspension.

Garces ruined his career in Europe.

One of Alavés’ major concerns at the moment is the situation of Argentine centre-back Facundo Garces, who has been banned from all football activities for 12 months by FIFA due to issues related to falsifying naturalisation documents from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Sharing about this issue, Mr. Troconiz said: “We will wait to see how the Garces case develops. This is a matter outside the club but clearly affects us. The case has not been decided yet. Moreover, we can still appeal. The club continues to believe in the player and the right to be presumed innocent. Everything has not been decided yet."

Alaves had previously removed Garces from their La Liga squad following a FIFA ruling. The team's central defender position is currently being temporarily filled by full-backs Tenaglia and Parada.

Mr. Troconiz also said that, depending on the development of the case, the team may have to recruit more central defenders when the transfer market opens in January 2026.

According to documents released by FIFA, the records proving Garces’ Malaysian origin are completely false. FAM asserts that Garces’ grandfather, Carlos Rogelio Fernandez, was born in Penang, Malaysia. However, documents verified by FIFA from the Civil Registry of Santa Fe Province (Argentina) show that Mr. Fernandez was actually born in the Villa Maria Selva neighborhood of Santa Fe, Argentina.

Highlights Malaysia 0-0 Singapore On the evening of December 20, Malaysia was held to a 0-0 draw by Singapore at home, thereby officially being eliminated from the ASEAN Cup 2024.

Source: https://znews.vn/chu-tich-alaves-garces-vo-toi-post1601543.html