With 2 Heritage Players Fate In Limbo Spanish Clubs Axe One Sanctioned By Fifa

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Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, one of the seven “heritage” players hit with sanctions and a year-long suspension from all football-related activities by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), is now without a club.
The development comes after the left back, more commonly known as Gabriel ‘Gabri’ Palmero, who had been on loan to Spain-based Unionistas de Salamanca CF from his parent club, Club Deportivo Tenerife (CD Tenerife), was terminated by both teams.
Unionistas de Salamanca CF, a Spanish third-division club, had been hosting Arrocha on loan before his suspension meted out by Fifa. The two clubs are not formally affiliated, with the arrangement initially set for the 2025-2026 season.
In a statement today, Unionistas de Salamanca CF announced that it had reached an agreement with CD Tenerife on the premature termination of Arrocha’s loan.
ADS“Unionistas de Salamanca CF has reached an agreement with CD Tenerife to terminate the loan of player Gabriel Palmero, following notification received from Fifa on Sept 25 and the rejection of the player's appeal on Nov 3.
“The agreement has not entailed any financial cost for the club,” it said, thanking the player for his dedication during his time with the Salamanca-based club.
In a separate post on X last night, CD Tenerife said Arrocha’s contractual link with the club had concluded on Nov 7.
Gabriel Felipe Arrocha concluye este viernes, día 7 de noviembre, tanto su cesión en Unionistas de Salamanca CF como su vinculación contractual con el CD Tenerife. pic.twitter.com/H6LtGyksdm
— CD Tenerife 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@CDTOficial) November 7, 2025Previously, it was reported that Arrocha’s fellow Harimau Malaya player, striker Rodrigo Julian Holgado, might be hit by similar actions from his Colombian club, América de Cali, which is said to be considering letting him go.
Besides Arrocha and Holgado, five other foreign players have been implicated in a citizenship scandal, with Fifa asserting that their Malaysian citizenship had been granted on the basis of forged and falsified identification documents.
The other five are Facundo Tomas Garces, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.
In September, Fifa imposed a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million) on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), while the seven players were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,500).
The players were also slapped with a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.
Fifa rejects appeal
On Nov 3, Fifa’s appeals committee announced its rejection of FAM’s appeal against the sanctions imposed on the local association and the players involved.
The global football body also stated that FAM and the players have 10 days from the date of the announcement to request the written grounds of the decision, and 21 days to file a possible appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In its findings released on Oct 6, Fifa disciplinary committee deputy chairperson, Jorge Palacio, said the committee was “comfortably satisfied” that the birth certificates submitted by FAM in several eligibility proceedings had been forged and/or falsified, to alter the players’ grandparents’ birthplaces.
FAM has since formed an independent committee, led by former chief justice Raus Shariff, to investigate issues involving the seven players over allegations of falsifying documents linked to their Malaysian ancestry. - Mkini

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