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Malaysian football faces new crisis over multi-million dollar compensation demands from naturalized players

Sandy Verma | December 2, 2025 3:24 AM CST

Malaysian striker of Argentine origin Rodrigo Holgado (R) plays in the 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, 2025. Photo by MalaysiaNT

According to Stadium Astrothe seven players are “no longer side by side” with Malaysian football. They are planning to formally file a complaint and demand compensation for financial damages if FAM fails in its appeal against FIFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The players, who received heavy penalties including fines and a 12-month ban from football activities, will demand compensation equivalent to at least one year’s salary, according to the report.

The financial threat is substantial. President of the Sports Law Association of Malaysia (SLAM), Balbeer Singh, affirmed that the compensation claim will be “completely fair.”

Among the seven players, Facundo Garces is the highest-paid, earning a reported salary of $1.1 million. While the salaries of the other players have not been publicly disclosed, the players who represent Malaysia’s biggest club Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) club are part of an annual salary fund of up to $12 million, with some receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

According to Singh, these players will demand compensation of at least one year’s salary, and can completely win the lawsuit against FAM if they can prove that they did not intentionally commit the naturalization fraud, which includes document forgery.

“Another option is to reach an agreement between the two sides, and maybe FAM will settle with the players,” Singh told Stadium Astro.

FIFA rejected FAM’s appeal in early November and upheld its disciplinary decision, which suspends the players from all football activities for a year from Sept. 26 and imposes a fine of 350,000 Swiss franc ($436,000) on FAM.

FIFA’s investigation found original birth certificates proving their grandparents were born in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands or Spain, not Malaysia as claimed.

FAM is currently in a crisis with the financial consequences of the ongoing case with FIFA. The appeal costs can reach up to millions of dollars, and they have been cut off from funding by both the Malaysian government and several sponsors.