FIFA has confirmed sanctions against the Argentines Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garcés, and Rodrigo Holgado, involved in the document forgery case presented by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). The Appeals Committee ratified the initial penalties: a one-year ban from competing and an individual fine of 2,000 Swiss francs for each player. In parallel, the FAM was sanctioned with a payment of 350,000 Swiss francs for its direct responsibility in the scheme. The conflict erupted after FIFA verified that the Malaysian federation had used manipulated documentation to enable seven footballers—including the three Argentines—to play the match against Vietnam on June 10, 2025, for the third round of the qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Among the irregularities detected, authorities determined that the certificates used to prove family ties with Malaysia contained false data about the birthplaces of the players' grandparents. The investigation detailed that Machuca's grandmother was not born in Penang but in Roldán (Santa Fe); that Holgado's grandfather, Omar, was not from George Town but from Caseros; and that Garcés's grandfather, Carlos Fernández, was also not born in Penang but in Villa María de la Selva, also in the province of Santa Fe. On the domestic front, the situation particularly complicates matters for Imanol Machuca at Vélez. The midfielder, on loan from Fortaleza since January and with 24 matches played for the “Fortín”, will end his loan at the end of the year. The Vélez management has no plans to extend his stay, so the player will have to serve the remainder of his suspension in Brazil, with no possibility of competing for the next 12 months.
