Argentine newspaper publishes dossier, Imanol Machuca exposed
Capital de Noticias continues to publish documents showing that Imanol Machuca and FAM fabricated their Malaysian origin. The player has been banned for 12 months, FAM faces investigation and the risk of Malaysia being sanctioned by FIFA.
Capital de Noticias (Argentina) published additional documents showing that Imanol Machuca has no blood connection to Malaysia as previously declared. This is a new development after Facundo Garces's profile was exposed. Imanol Machuca was banned from playing for 12 months and fined, while FAM is facing an international investigation into the legality of his naturalization application.
Evidence from Capital de Noticias
According to Capital de Noticias, FAM claims that Imanol Machuca's grandmother was born in Penang, Malaysia. However, exclusive documents obtained by the newspaper show otherwise. The birth certificate of Concepcion Agueda Alaniz – Imanol Machuca's grandmother – clearly states the place of birth as the town of Roldan, Argentina, and is kept by the Civil Registry of Santa Fe Province.
The newspaper reported that an official in charge of the notary office certified in official records that in Roldan, San Lorenzo, Santa Fe province, on August 23, 1954, at 10:00 a.m., Mr. Celestino Alaniz (22 years old, Argentine nationality) got married. That same month, a white girl was born, the legitimate daughter of Mr. Celestino Alaniz and Mrs. Nelida Agustina Ordonez (both Argentines). The girl was registered as Concepcion Agueda.
Different from the claims of Machuca and FAM
Capital de Noticias pointed out that Imanol Machuca himself claimed that the connection to Malaysia came from his grandmother, Concepcion Agueda. The hypothesis that Machuca's grandmother might have married a Malaysian man was also mentioned as a confusing possibility.
However, the marriage certificate shows that Ms. Concepcion Agueda is married to Jorge Luis Saracho, a laborer born in Roldan, in the town of San Jeronimo Sur (Argentina). The newspaper concluded: there is no document linking Imanol Machuca to Malaysia.
Consequences: fines and risk of further investigation
The player born in 1999 was banned from playing for 12 months and fined. FAM is facing an international investigation into the legality of his naturalization application. The Argentine newspaper commented that the incident could lead to a series of serious consequences, in which Malaysia is at risk of being sanctioned by FIFA if it is determined that there was fraud in the player registration process.
Moments on the pitch: 17 minutes before Vietnam
Imanol Machuca only played 17 minutes in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam on June 10. It was one of his few appearances before the incident was exposed and a 12-month suspension was imposed.
Setting: from Facundo Garces to Machuca
The new documents on Imanol Machuca were published shortly after Capital de Noticias uncovered the real profile of Facundo Garces. This series of discoveries raises big questions about the naturalization process related to football players in recent times.
