Malaysia are supposed to be on the cusp of qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup with a perfect record of five wins from five in Group F. Under normal circumstances, the country would be celebrating a historic campaign. Instead, the mood has been muted after the national team became embroiled in one of the most damaging naturalisation controversies in modern football.
FIFA has found the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) guilty of fielding seven naturalised players, namely Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero and Hector Hevel, with falsified documentation.
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The world governing body has imposed hefty sanctions, including a 12-month suspension for each player, prompting FAM to launch an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). While the appeal process is ongoing, Malaysia face the possibility of further punishments should the ruling be upheld. Crucially, these players featured in qualifying victories against Nepal and Vietnam, casting immediate doubt over the legitimacy of Malaysia’s results.
As the nation waits anxiously for a final decision, here’s a look at other national teams that have suffered serious consequences for fielding ineligible players in recent years.
Timor-Leste
Between 2012 and 2016, Timor-Leste carried out one of the most extensive illegal naturalisation schemes in international football. A dozen Brazilian-born players were registered using falsified Timorese birth certificates, allowing them to represent the country in Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying.
FIFA and the AFC responded forcefully: Timor-Leste were banned from the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, 29 official match results were annulled and the federation received financial penalties. Several senior officials were also banned for their roles as the case remains one of the most severe eligibility crackdowns in football history.
Equatorial Guinea
Emilio Nsue, a Spanish-born forward who represented Spain at various youth levels, began playing for his father’s country in 2013. However, FIFA later determined that he had not been eligible to switch allegiance under its nationality regulations. Despite this ruling, Nsue continued to appear in official matches, including at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The repeated violation of eligibility rules resulted in the forfeiture of multiple match results, with several 3-0 walkover victories awarded to Equatorial Guinea’s opponents over the years. In June 2024, FIFA imposed a further six-month international ban on Nsue.
Yet, in a dramatic twist more than a decade after making his international debut, FIFA officially cleared Nsue to represent Equatorial Guinea in March 2025, bringing closure to one of football’s most protracted eligibility disputes.
Bolivia
Bolivia’s case centred on Nelson Cabrera, a Paraguayan-born defender who had previously played for Paraguay before being naturalised as a Bolivian citizen. He appeared in 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Chile despite failing to meet FIFA’s five-year residency requirement, making him ineligible under nationality rules.
FIFA later awarded both matches as 3-0 forfeits to Peru and Chile. The ruling, which was also upheld by the CAS, dramatically reshaped the South American qualifying table, as it helped Peru secure a World Cup berth while contributing to Chile’s failure to qualify.
Syria
In 2011, Syria fielded striker George Mourad, previously capped by Sweden, in both legs of their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying clash against Tajikistan. Syria won the tie comfortably on the field, but Mourad was later found to have not completed FIFA’s official procedure for a nationality switch. FIFA overturned the results, awarding 3-0 forfeits in both legs and reinstating Tajikistan, who had originally lost 6-1 on aggregate.
