Heritage Player Machuca Returns To Argentina After Fifa Suspension

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Imanol Javier Machuca, one of Malaysia’s seven “heritage” football players, has reportedly returned to his home country following his sanction and suspension by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa).
The New Straits Times reported yesterday that Machuca is heading back to Argentina to rejoin his club, Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield, citing Argentine news outlet Sábado Vélez, which covers the team.
According to the report, the 25-year-old had flown to Malaysia in an attempt to resolve issues related to Fifa’s action.
“Today, we spoke with him (Machuca). He’s on his way back, currently making a stopover, and is expected to arrive here (Argentina) on Saturday.
ADS“He’s remained positive about his situation after giving a good explanation and hopes Fifa will allow him to play again. We are now waiting for their decision,” Velez Sarsfield coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto was quoted as saying.
Machuca, however, will also not be eligible to play for Vélez Sarsfield until Fifa issues an official response regarding his appeal.
“As long as we haven’t received feedback from Fifa, we can’t make any decision on the next steps.
“He’s been in great form and has contributed a lot to the team. We’ll just have to see what happens next,” Schelotto reportedly said.
On Sept 26, Fifa imposed sanctions on FAM and seven foreign-born players from Malaysia’s national squad, Harimau Malaya, for breaches of Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code, concerning forgery and falsification.
Fifa said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility, enabling them to feature in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
It also determined that FAM must pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million), while each of the seven players was also slapped with a 2,000 Swiss francs fine.
Apart from Machuca, the six others - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano - were also suspended 12 months from all football-related activities.
In the grounds of its ruling, Fifa revealed it had acquired the original birth documents of the players’ “Malaysian-born” grandparents, which contradicted the alleged doctored documents submitted by the Malaysian side.
As for Machuca, Fifa identified that his grandparent was born in Argentina, not Penang as claimed.
Fifa’s ‘forged document’ claims don’t involve NRD
The National Registration Department (NRD) has denied any involvement in the alleged falsification of documents concerning seven “heritage” players.
ADSA NRD source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Malaysiakini that the matter “does not involve” the department.
“In the case of the seven ‘heritage’ players, the NRD’s role was to determine whether they were eligible for Malaysian citizenship or not, in accordance with the Federal Constitution.
“Once they fulfilled the required conditions, the NRD approved their applications and informed FAM (Football Association of Malaysia), with all related approval documents handed over to FAM.
“Therefore, I can confirm that Fifa’s allegations that the players obtained falsified documents, or had deliberately sought to circumvent eligibility rules, do not involve the NRD,” the source said.
The source also said that claims by certain parties suggesting that NRD officers had colluded in the matter were untrue.
Minister says due processes followed
On Thursday, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Dewan Rakyat that he had exercised his power granted under the Federal Constitution to consider the seven foreign footballers as fit to be granted Malaysian citizenship.
Saifuddin said Section 20(1)(e) of Part III of the Second Schedule of the Federal Constitution provides discretionary power to the home minister when considering a citizenship application from a foreigner, particularly in the fulfilment of the minimum residency requirements.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail“The power under 20(1)(e) means that the definition of ‘residency’ in the Constitution allows for the applicant’s presence outside the country to still be considered as being within the country,” Saifuddin said.
He stressed that all seven players had fulfilled the requirements under the law to be granted citizenship by naturalisation, including having proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia.
Human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen, however, accused Saifuddin of misleading Parliament by wrongly citing Section 20(1)(e) of the Constitution to justify granting citizenship to the footballers.
Eric PaulsenPaulsen, who has handled numerous cases involving stateless persons, argued that the provision applies only to calculating residence periods for individuals who have already lived in Malaysia, not to those who have never resided in the country.
He also challenged Saifuddin’s interpretation of the law.
AFC to act after FAM exhausts appeals
Last week, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said that any form of sanction against FAM and its players, including point deductions in competitions under AFC, will only be imposed once all legal processes have concluded.
Harian Metro reported AFC secretary-general, Windsor Paul John, saying that FAM has until March 31, 2026, to complete all its appeals.
He said that AFC will wait until FAM has exhausted all of its available legal avenues before taking any action against the Harimau Malaya squad, or against the Malaysian League clubs that the suspended players participated in.
“AFC needs to wait until all legal processes have been completed by FAM. Fifa’s Disciplinary Committee has already issued its full decision, and FAM’s next step is to appeal to the Fifa Appeals Committee, and thereafter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Everything depends on FAM,” Windsor reportedly said.
The report stated that Johor’s football team, Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, which fielded Figueiredo, Iraurgui, and Serrano in the AFC Champions League Elite, could also face point deductions for fielding ineligible players. - Mkini

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