In case FIFA verifies that the Malaysian naturalized players are not qualified to participate in the match against the Vietnamese team on June 10, the result of this match may be annulled. In fact, the team nicknamed Harimau Malaya may even be disqualified.
Indonesian newspaper Suara wrote about this incident: “Behind the victory of the Malaysian team over the Vietnamese team, Malaysia is being heavily criticized. Many opinions say that the naturalization of Malaysian players is not in accordance with regulations and they could be disqualified.”
Malaysia's naturalized players are being questioned about their origins (Photo: VFF).
“The players being mentioned include Facundo Garces, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, Hector Hevel, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo and Rodrigo Holgado. They are all naturalized players who have recently joined the Malaysian national team,” Suara added.
According to the newspaper of the archipelago country, the reason for the suspicions is: "The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is completely not open about the origin of the above naturalized players. At this time, FAM affirms that the naturalized player status of the above players is legal."
“The presence of naturalized players helped the Malaysian team outperform the Vietnamese team in the latest match. Before the presence of naturalized players, Malaysia was not a rival of the Vietnamese team,” is still the line written in Suara newspaper.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's New Straits Times commented: "The debate over the origins and ancestors of the newly naturalized players in the Malaysian national team has not subsided. This is an unusual situation that has never happened before in Malaysian football."
Many Malaysian fans are also unclear about the origins of their team's naturalized players (Photo: ASEAN Football).
“Even Malaysian football fans cannot pronounce the names of the newly naturalized national players. Many fans accuse FAM of keeping the lineage and origins of the naturalized players too secretive,” the New Straits Times added.
The Malaysian newspaper elaborated on the matter: “FAM previously announced that the newly naturalized players, including Facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca, Jon Irazabal, Joao Figueiredo and Rodrigo Holgado, were named by FIFA.”
“These players played a key role in Malaysia’s 4-0 win over Vietnam in the Asian Cup qualifiers at Bukit Jalil last month. What is more concerning is that FAM has yet to reveal the lineage of these players. What is their connection to Malaysia? This leaves fans in the dark,” the New Straits Times stressed.
Until recently, FAM President Datuk Joehari Ayub spoke out about the issue of Malaysia's new naturalized players: "We dare not take lightly the origin of naturalized players. FIFA is checking everything."
“At FAM, we are following the directives and guidelines set by FIFA. FAM is ready to disclose information on the origins of naturalized players. I confirm that we have followed the correct procedures,” added Football Association of Malaysia chief Datuk Joehari Ayub.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/bao-dong-nam-a-binh-luan-viec-malaysia-co-the-bi-xu-thua-tuyen-viet-nam-20250701211131613.htm
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