Spanish Club issues official statement regarding Malaysian naturalized player

Center-back Facundo Garcés has been permitted by Deportivo Alavés to return to training according to the most recent CAS ruling.

La Liga club Deportivo Alavés has reported that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) approved the temporary suspension request filed by player Facundo Garcés as part of the appeal process against the sanction imposed by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee on September 25, 2025, and confirmed by FIFA’s Appeal Committee on November 3, 2025:

"While this precautionary measure remains effective, Facundo Garcés is allowed to continue his professional activities as usual, without affecting CAS’s final decision on the case. Therefore, the player will rejoin the team’s training sessions."

On the evening of January 26, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has granted a suspension of the sanctions against seven Malaysian national team players, including Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, and Héctor Hevel.

This decision means the 12-month football activity ban imposed by FIFA on these seven naturalized Malaysian players is temporarily lifted, and they are allowed to continue their careers and participate in any football-related activities until a final ruling on their appeal is made by CAS.

Previously, Deportivo Alavés had removed center-back Facundo Garcés from the squad list for the remainder of the season, after FIFA imposed a 12-month ban on the player from all football activities due to involvement in a nationality document fraud scandal. Currently, he can train with the team again but is unlikely to play in matches yet.

Facundo Garcés was once considered a highly promising center-back while playing for Club Colon. At his peak, he was valued at 4.5 million Euros. However, since transferring to Alavés, his market value dropped to 2 million Euros, and now, following the scandal, it has decreased further to 1 million Euros.