KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) — The Malaysian Football League (MFL) has urged all parties to channel any views or dissatisfaction through the proper avenues to ensure harmony and safeguard the image of national football.
In a statement today, MFL said it respects the right of all parties to voice their opinions, but any actions that could disrupt public order, damage the reputation of the local football industry or create negative perceptions of the national football ecosystem are inappropriate.
“As the organiser of the country’s professional league, MFL remains committed to ensuring that every decision is made in accordance with competition regulations while taking into account the interests of all stakeholders, including clubs, players, supporters and industry partners,” the statement said, in response to a group of individuals who staged a protest in front of the MFL office yesterday.
Addressing the issues raised by the group, MFL explained that the registration process for naturalised players and the heritage player issue are two different matters.
It said the verification and registration process for naturalised players in the Malaysia League is as outlined in the Malaysia League Manual 2025-2026 under Article 4.5.9.
“However, the registration of players from Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) — Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel — as well as a player from Kuching City FC, Gabriel Palmero, clearly complies with Malaysia League competition regulations, as they used valid identity cards as Malaysian citizens issued by the National Registration Department,” it said.
MFL reiterated that the four players were registered in the Malaysia League as local players and not as naturalised players.
As local players, all four could be directly registered for the 2025-2026 Malaysia League season, with Figueiredo, Irazabal and Hevel registered during the first player registration window from June 9 to Aug 31, 2025 by JDT, while Palmero — who was then temporarily cleared from suspension by the Court of Arbitration for Sport — was registered by Kuching City FC during the second registration window from Jan 5 to Feb 1, 2026.
MFL added that its decision to recognise the players as local players was also acknowledged by the Asian Football Confederation through a media statement issued by its secretary-general Windsor Paul John on March 13, which clarified that there was no issue with the decision as it complied with Malaysia League competition regulations.
— BERNAMA
