PETALING JAYA: Gabriel Palmero remains hopeful as he awaits FIFA’s final verdict on his year-long suspension.
The Malaysian international is among seven national players banned for 12 months from all football-related activities by the world governing body, following allegations that their registration documents had been falsified.
The ruling has also led to Palmero’s suspension by his Spanish third division side Unionistas de Salamanca.
Despite the uncertainty, the 23-year-old has vowed not to give up.
Taking to Instagram, Palmero posted a short but resolute message in Spanish on Sunday, stating: "Lucharla hasta el final" (Fight to the end).
Palmero, who has earned four caps for Malaysia and was seen as one of the country’s brightest prospects at left wing-back, now faces a long battle to clear his name.
It has been nearly 10 days since FIFA sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) over the alleged falsification of documents that classified the seven players as Malaysians.
FAM have been granted 10 days to appeal the decision, but FIFA have yet to release the full grounds of the judgment.
According to FIFA, the Malaysian body submitted doctored documents during the eligibility process for Malaysia’s Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.
The players involved are Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal, and Héctor Hevel.
Each player has been fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,570), while FAM have been slapped with a 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.85mil) penalty.
