February 20, 2026 | 09:24 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Minister of Youth and Sports, Erick Thohir, has denied allegations that he was the one who reported to FIFA about the naturalization case of the Malaysian national team player. "That's not true," said Erick to reporters at the Ministry of Youth and Sports building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, February 20, 2026.
In mid-February 2026, Malaysian media, MyNewsHub, accused Erick of being the main person behind the report. The accusation was published in an article titled "Erick Thohir Dalang Utama Yang Membuat Aduan kepada FIFA."
Based on an anonymous source from Latin America close to FIFA, the media claimed that Erick ordered a proxy to gather documents and file a complaint indirectly through Vietnam.
"He (Erick Thohir) ordered and sent someone to make a complaint while searching and sending documents to someone within FIFA indirectly," wrote MyNewsHub. "Vietnam made the complaint, but the documents were from Erick Thohir's hireling."
It was mentioned that Indonesia was concerned about the rise of the Malaysian national team and the influence of figures like Tunku Ismail (TMJ) on Malaysian football, which was the motive behind the report. These accusations were referred to as a "hidden hand" or throwing a stone and hiding the hand.
Erick, who is also the Chair of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), stated that he would not interfere with the progress of other countries' football. He said Indonesia needs healthy competition with countries in Southeast Asia and Asia. "So, I apologize, that's not where I stand," he said.
Erick explained that he is continuously pushing for countries in Southeast and East Asia to improve their competition. This way, Indonesia can also raise the level of football in the country. "If our football does not improve, of course, we will continue to lose to Europe or Latin America," he said.
He also hopes that Asian countries can play a bigger role in the future. "We'll see later if Asian countries themselves have played a bigger role in the next matches."
This case stemmed from the scandal of falsifying naturalization documents of seven foreign players who played for Harimau Malaya-the nickname for the Malaysian national team. FIFA's investigation found that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) used fake documents, such as altered birth certificates of grandparents, to prove the players' lineage.
Several players were involved in the engineered naturalization scandal, namely Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano. As a result, FIFA sanctioned FAM and the players with bans and possible point deductions.
Read: FIFA Series 2026: Indonesia to Face Bulgaria, Solomon Islands in March
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