Facundo Garcés: Alavés drop defender for Mallorca clash | OneFootball

The defender from Santa Fe, Facundo Garcés, currently playing for Alavés in Spain, has been suspended by FIFA for one year due to the use of falsified documentation to represent the Malaysia National Team in a qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup.

FIFA imposed a 12-month ban on Garcés (formerly of Colón) and six other players—including former Unión player Imanol Machuca—prohibiting them from participating in football-related activities for violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which pertains to document forgery.

All of this perhaps points to the undue influence of agents, as well as unnecessary oversights driven purely by financial motives.

Deportivo Alavés issued an official statement confirming that the defender will not be included in the squad for the match against Mallorca and expressed their respect for the presumption of innocence of the player, requesting that the process be resolved as quickly as possible.

The Alavés Statement on Garcés

“Deportivo Alavés has received official notification of the sanction imposed by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee on Facundo Garcés, as part of the resolutions publicly announced by the international body.

As a consequence of this decision, Facundo Garcés will not be included in the squad for the match we will play this afternoon against RCD Mallorca.

Deportivo Alavés wishes to emphasize its respect for the presumption of innocence that applies to the player, trusting that the process will be resolved as quickly as possible.”

The Malaysian Federation Also Responds to FIFA

The Football Association of Malaysia (FMF) confirmed that it will appeal FIFA’s decision and stated that, from its perspective, there were no irregularities: “Both the affected players and the Federation itself have acted in good faith and with complete transparency throughout the entire process.” It affirmed that they managed “all documentation and related procedures transparently, following established guidelines.” It then explained: “FIFA had already examined the eligibility of the players in question and had given its official approval for them to represent Malaysia.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.