KUALA LUMPUR – Argentine striker Rodrigo Holgado is reportedly among several foreign-born national players who have travelled to Malaysia to address their FIFA suspensions.
According to Argentine journalist Nany Flórez on X, the América de Cali forward arrived with his agent after FIFA imposed sanctions on the national team and seven players.
“Holgado is now in Malaysia with his agent … he hopes the matter can be resolved as there is a 10-day window to lodge an appeal,” Flórez wrote.
Holgado was said to be joined by Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés and Imanol Machuca, while Johor Darul Ta’zim’s Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel were also named among those sanctioned. Several Malaysian fans claimed on social media to have spotted some of the players in Johor Baru.
Last week, FIFA announced that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had submitted falsified documents during the verification process for player eligibility in official matches.
The players involved featured in Malaysia’s Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee fined FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.85 million). Each player received a 12-month ban from football-related activities and a fine of 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,560).
FAM has 10 days to file an appeal but says it cannot proceed until FIFA issues the full written judgment.
“FAM is still awaiting the full judgment decision document from FIFA. The appeal process will only commence once the full judgment has been received,” secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman said in a statement yesterday, adding no further comments would be made until the appeal concludes.
On Sunday, FAM admitted it had detected a “technical error” in the submission of documents by its staff and confirmed the matter was under internal review. — October 2, 2025