FIFA urged to probe FAM by Southeast Asian fans

New Straits Times

14 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The FA of Malaysia's (FAM) decision to call up three Argentina-born players, one Spaniard and one Brazilian to strengthen the Harimau Malaya squad has sparked fierce debate among Southeast Asian fans.
According to a post by Indonesian Football News on Facebook, many supporters — especially from Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand — are questioning the legitimacy of the players' heritage, casting doubt on their status as Malaysian heritage players under coach Peter Cklamovski.
Most fans simply don't believe that the South Americans and Spaniard named by FAM have any real Malaysian ancestry.
One X user posted: "I'm 100 per cent sure none of these Argentine players have a Malaysian grandfather or grandmother — or any Malaysian roots at all. They're buying players. FIFA will surely ban them if an Asean country lodges a protest."
A Vietnamese fan page echoed the sentiment.
"We used to criticise Indonesia for naturalising players, but at least their players had clear links. With Malaysia, it's hard to prove anything."
Many Asean supporters are now calling for FIFA to launch a formal investigation into FAM, similar to the case involving Timor Leste, who were sanctioned over a comparable issue.
Recently, Malaysia unveiled five new heritage players — Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Rodrigo Holgado, Jon Irazabal and Facundo Garces.
Machuca, Holgado and Garces were born in Argentina, Figueiredo hails from Brazil, and Irazabal is Spanish.