Facundo Garces

Facundo Garces is a footballer who plays for Deportivo Alaves. He is one of seven foreign-born players who played for Malaysia's national football team and were initially banned by FIFA for a year in September due to the use of falsified naturalization documents. FIFA also fined the Football Association of Malaysia for filing the fake documents. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has since intervened, first temporarily halting the bans while the players' appeal is reviewed. Subsequently, CAS eased the sanctions, ruling that the players will now serve a 12-month suspension from official matches only, rather than a complete ban from all football activities. This partial upholding of the sanctions by CAS has been met with disappointment by the Malaysian FA. Garces' case highlights issues surrounding player naturalization and documentation within international football.