Gabriel Palmero

Gabriel Felipe Arrocha (born 15 January 2002), commonly known as Gabriel Palmero, is a Spanish professional footballer who last played as a left-back. He played for the Malaysia national team on four occasions. However, he is currently suspended from all football-related activities after being sanctioned by FIFA in September 2025 for forging documents related to his Malaysian ancestry.

Club career

Las Palmas Born in La Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands (which led to his nickname Palmero), he was a youth product of Tenisca, making him a senior debut with the main squad at the age of 15 on 12 April 2017, in a 2–1 Tercera División home loss to Estrella. He later joined the youth categories of Las Palmas shortly after, and signed a contract renewal on 16 October 2018.

Palmero became a full member of the reserves ahead of the 2023–24 campaign, now also in the fifth division. He made his first team debut on 31 October 2023, coming on as a late substitute for goalscorer Julián Araujo in a 3–0 away win over Manacor, for the season's Copa del Rey.

Tenisca (loan) Palmero returned to Tenisca on loan on 31 January 2020; initially a member of their Juvenil squad, he also featured in two matches with the main squad.

Tenerife The following 3 January 2025, his loan was cut short, and he moved to the rivals Tenerife also in a temporary deal; he was initially assigned to the B-team in Segunda Federación.

Palmero made his professional debut with Tenerife on 17 May 2025, starting in a 1–0 away loss to Cartagena, as both sides were already relegated. He signed a permanent deal with the club afterwards.

Unionistas (loan) On 14 July 2025, Palmero was loaned to fellow third division side Unionistas de Salamanca CF for one year. Palmero was later suspended by the club after being sanctioned by FIFA in September. Later on 7 November 2025, the loan with Unionistas was terminated, then his contract with Tenerife was also terminated.

International career In March 2025, Palmero was called up to the Malaysia national team, claiming Malaysian heritage through his grandmother. He joined the national training camp later that month in Johor Bahru alongside Hector Hevel, another player who claimed Malaysian heritage, as part of preparation for the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification.

Palmero made his international debut for Malaysia on 29 May 2025 in an international friendly against Cape Verde, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He started the match and played 78 minutes.

In September 2025, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Palmero, and six other players with claimed Malaysian heritage were sanctioned by FIFA due to falsification and forgery of documents regarding the seven players' eligibility to play in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam. Each player was fined CHF 2,000 (around MYR 10,560) and were suspended from all football related activities for 12 months. FAM has confirmed it will file an appeal against FIFA's sanctions. The appeal was however rejected by FIFA.

Career statistics International