March 22 – Nine of the Brazilian footballers that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) found were playing under fake Timor-Leste passports have had their passports declared ‘null and void’, according to information from the Ministry of Justice of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste provided to the AFC.
The AFC has sent a communication to member associations advising them that the players are “not permitted to be registered in any competition either as Timor-Leste citizens or utilising Timor-Leste passports bearing their name.”
The AFC also said that it is further investigating Timor-Leste passports “purportedly” held by a number of other players.
In January East Timor was been kicked out of the 2023 Asian Cup and fined $76,000 for fielding several Brazilian-born footballers.The ban followed a probe launched last summer, in conjunction with FIFA, into the eligibility of certain players after qualifying matches for the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Late last year Insideworldfootball saw copies of letters sent by the Palestinian Football Association to both governing bodies complaining that East Timor fielded seven ineligible Brazilian-born players when the sides drew 1-1 on October 8 in a World Cup qualifier.
The AFC says it has discovered at least 12 Brazilian-born East Timor players used fake documents for both Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers to claim they were eligible through Timorese heritage.
“Nine of the footballers participated in a total of 29 matches falling under the jurisdiction of the AFC, and seven matches falling under the jurisdiction of FIFA,” the confederation said.
The 29 AFC matches in which ineligible players participated have all been forfeited and the AFC has ordered East Timor FA (FTTL) general secretary Amandio de Araujo Sarmento to be banned from all football-related activity for three years and fined $9,000 for being liable, together with the FTTL, for the falsified documents.
The players who have had their bogus Timor-Leste passports annulled are:
* Diogo Santos Rangel,
* Fellipe Bertoldo Do Santos,
* Jairo Pinheiro Palmeira Neto,
* Junior Aparecido Guimaro De Souza,
* Patrick Fabiano Alves Nobrega Luz,
* Paulo Cesar Da Silva Martins,
* Paulo Helber Rosa Ribeiro,
* Ramon De Lima Saro,
* Rodrigo Sousa Silva
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1713939750labto1713939750ofdlr1713939750owedi1713939750sni@n1713939750osloh1713939750cin.l1713939750uap1713939750
