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Garces' great-grandfather was Malaysian. |
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has officially denied allegations of fraud in the controversy surrounding the group of naturalized players currently suspended by FIFA. Secretary General Datuk Noor Azman Hj Rahman stated: “We discovered a technical error during the paperwork process. The players involved are all legal citizens of Malaysia.”
However, the newspaper AS pointed out that Facundo Garces did not meet FIFA's criteria. Specifically, Garces only had a great-grandfather who was Malaysian - a detail not included in the regulations regarding eligibility to play for the national team.
According to FIFA regulations, a player is only eligible to play for a national team if one of their parents was born in that country, one of their paternal or maternal grandparents is a native citizen, or they have resided legally and continuously for at least five years after their 18th birthday.
This means that FAM's reliance on his great-grandfather's ancestry to legitimize Garces's status is invalid. Previously, FAM had stated that FIFA had checked and confirmed the legitimacy of the documents, so the accusation of "falsifying documents" has caused great confusion among the Malaysian public.
In a statement, FAM affirmed that it would use “all possible legal channels” to appeal but would wait until it received the detailed verdict before officially filing the appeal. The incident not only crippled the Malaysian national team ahead of international tournaments but also raised serious questions about naturalization policy – an increasingly sensitive issue as FIFA tightens standards for players who were not born or permanently resided in the country they wish to represent.
Source: https://znews.vn/goc-gac-malaysia-cua-facundo-garces-post1589592.html
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