Alaves Defender Facundo Garces Suspended Following FIFA Ruling on False Naturalization Documents
Vitoria-Gasteiz, alava, Basque Country – Spanish La liga club Alaves has sidelined defender Facundo Garces after FIFA determined he was improperly naturalized to play for the Malaysian national team. The suspension stems from discrepancies in documentation submitted to FIFA regarding Garces’s grandmother’s birthplace, a key requirement for his Malaysian citizenship.
Garces, 26, received a Malaysian passport on June 2, 2025, through lineage tracing to his grandmother. He later played twice for Malaysia before FIFA investigated and found the documentation asserting his grandmother’s Malaysian birth to be inaccurate. FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee issued sanctions against Garces on September 26, 2025, prompting Alaves to initially exclude him from their September 27th La Liga match against Mallorca.
Alaves responded to FIFA’s punishment with two official statements, affirming respect for the ruling while upholding the principle of presumption of innocence and expressing hope for a swift resolution. The club subsequently imposed a temporary suspension on garces on September 29, 2025, removing him from team selection until the legal process concludes.
“We responded to FIFA’s punishment with respect, upholds the principle of presumption of innocence, and hopes that the case can be resolved as quickly as possible,” Alaves stated.
Garces last appeared in a match for alaves on September 24, 2025. The situation raises questions about the integrity of player naturalization processes and potential repercussions for both the player and the Malaysian Football Association (FAM). As of late October 2025, nearly a month after FIFA’s initial statement, no positive developments have emerged regarding Garces’s case.
