After Malaysia scandal, Imanol Machuca to join Vélez | OneFootball

CAS ruled in favor of the Argentine footballers who represented Malaysia and, in that sense, both Rodrigo Holgado, Facundo Garcés, and Imanol Machuca will return to playing football. The latter, in fact, has everything agreed to make his return to Argentina to once again join the ranks of Vélez.

The deal was closed as a one-year loan from Fortaleza, the team that owns the rights to the former Unión player, with a mandatory purchase option if certain objectives—so far undisclosed—are met. Tomorrow, he will undergo his medical examination and sign the contract. Thus, he will have the chance to wear the Fortín jersey again after having been an important player last year, although the Liniers team missed him afterwards due to the suspension imposed by the disciplinary body and for the offensive options he provided to coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

The three Argentine players, along with four others who played for the Asian national team, had been banned from practicing their profession for 12 months and fined 2,000 Swiss francs each for alleged document forgery to play for that national team.

They had been called up for the match against Vietnam in June 2025, corresponding to the third qualifying round for the AFC Asian Cup 2027. In addition, the Malaysian Football Federation was also sanctioned by FIFA, which awarded them three losses by default and imposed a fine of nearly half a million dollars.

Machuca, who at the time of the sanction was playing for Vélez, returned last December to Fortaleza, which was relegated to Serie B, but minutes after the favorable news broke, he posted an Instagram story wearing the Fortín jersey, causing a stir among fans. Hours later, he deleted it, although today his return was confirmed.

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