In a statement, Colombian club America de Cali confirmed that their player, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, will file the appeal as provided for under the FIFA Disciplinary Code, with the aim of having the sanction reviewed, Bernama reported.
The club said it was notified of FIFA’s decision, which bans Holgado from all football-related activities for 12 months.
“The legal department of America de Cali will also be in permanent contact with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to follow the development of its own appeal to FIFA,” the club was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, FIFA’s disciplinary committee said FAM must pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million). All seven players were fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM11,000) each and given a 12-month suspension, effective immediately.
FAM confirmed that it received an official notification from FIFA on the fine and suspensions over its alleged breach of Article 22 of FIFA’s disciplinary code, which relates to forgery and falsification.
FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi said it will appeal against the decision by FIFA and stressed that the association and the players involved had all acted in good faith and with full transparency throughout the process.
Aside from Holgado, the other mixed-heritage players sanctioned were Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.
According to FIFA, FAM had allegedly submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility, which allowed them to feature in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
Malaysia defeated Vietnam 4-0 in the match and nine of the Harimau Malaya’s starting 11 were naturalised players, with five of them – Figueiredo, Holgado, Irazabal, Garces and Machuca – receiving FIFA clearance just hours before kick-off.
Following that match, FIFA received an official complaint concerning the eligibility status of several players.