Heritage Players Colombian Club Axes One Spanish Boss Stands By Another

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Colombian club America de Cali has officially terminated the contract of suspended Harimau Malaya striker Rodrigo Julian Holgado, albeit with full pay.
The head of Spanish club Deportivo Alaves, on the other hand, is standing by another heritage player, Facundo Garces, on the presumption of innocence.
Holgado (above, left) and Garces are among seven players on the Malaysian national team who have been slapped with a 12-month suspension and fined after the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) found that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had falsified documents to show the footballers' supposed Malaysian heritage.
According to Colombian football news outlet ElDeportivo, America de Cali decided on Tuesday to end Holgado's contract with them early after Fifa upheld sanctions against the striker.
ADSHowever, it was reported to be an amicable outcome.
Slow approach
Spanish sports newspaper Diario AS reported Deportivo Alaves president Alfonso Fernandez de Troconiz as saying on Saturday that the club is taking a slow approach to Garces' case.
"It is an issue outside the club, but it is clear that it affects us. It is still open and nothing has changed, and it can still be appealed.
"We continue to believe in the player and in his presumption of innocence. There is nothing firm," he is quoted as saying.
Last month, Argentine news portal Capital De Noticias (CDN) published birth records showing that Garces’ grandfather, Carlos Rogelio Fernandez, was not born in Penang as alleged in documents submitted to Fifa.
Garces himself has claimed that one of his grandparents is from Malaysia.
Previously, another heritage player, Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, had his contract terminated by the club he was from and the club he was loaned to.
The FAM is planning to appeal the Fifa sanctions with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim offering to bankroll their effort.
FAM has also formed an independent committee, led by former chief justice Raus Sharif, to investigate issues involving the seven players over allegations of falsifying documents linked to their Malaysian ancestry. - Mkini

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