Jon Irazabal

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Jon Irazabal
Personal information
Full name Jon Irazabal Iraurgui
Date of birth (1996-11-28) 28 November 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Bilbao, Spain
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2005–2006 Danok Bat
2006–2012 Athletic Bilbao
2012–2015 Danok Bat
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2016 Sondika
2016–2019 Vitoria 34 (2)
2018–2019Mirandés (loan) 5 (0)
2019–2020 Mirandés 0 (0)
2020 Leioa 6 (0)
2020–2022 Amorebieta 40 (1)
2022–2025 Sabah 79 (5)
2025 Johor Darul Ta'zim 5 (4)
International career
2025 Malaysia 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:37, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 6 September 2025

Jon Irazabal Iraurgui (born 28 November 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who last played as either a central defender or a left back for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim. He represented Malaysia twice at international level; however, his Malaysian ancestry was found to be fabricated, and he is currently suspended from all football related activities after being sanctioned by FIFA in September 2025. [1] [2]

Contents

Club career

Irazabal finished his formation at Danok Bat CF, after having a six-year spell in the youth sides of Athletic Bilbao. In 2015, he joined CD Sondika in the regional leagues, and made his senior debut during the campaign. [3]

In July 2016, Irazabal signed for SD Eibar and was assigned to the farm team in Tercera División. [4] On 6 July 2018, he was loaned to Segunda División B side CD Mirandés for one year. [5]

Irazabal contributed with only five appearances during the whole 2018–19 season, as his side achieved promotion to Segunda División; his contract was automatically extended for a further year. On 21 January 2020, he terminated his contract with the club, [6] and signed for SD Leioa in the third division the following day. [7]

Amorebieta

On 15 July 2020, Irazabal left Leioa, [8] and signed for fellow league team SD Amorebieta on 1 September. [9] He was a regular starter for the Azules during the campaign, as his side achieved a first-ever promotion to the second division.

Irazabal made his professional debut on 14 August 2021, starting in a 0–2 away loss against Girona FC. [10] In July of the following year, he moved abroad for the first time in his career and signed for Azerbaijan Premier League side Sabah FC. [11]

Johor Daul Ta'zim

On 23 June 2025, Irazabal signed for a club outside of Europe for the first time when he was unveiled as the latest signing by Malaysian Super League side Johor Darul Ta'zim. [12] A FIFA sanction in September 2025 suspended Irazabal from all footballing activites for the coming 12 months. [13]

International career

In June 2025, Irazabal was called up to the Malaysia national team for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches. [14] He made his international debut on 10 June, in the match against Vietnam at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium. [15]

On 26 September 2025, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Irazabal, and six other Malaysian naturalized players were sanctioned by FIFA due to falsification and forgery of documents regarding the seven players' eligibility to play for Malaysia in the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam. Each players were 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 ruling. [16]

Personal life

Born in Spain, Irazabal claimed to be of Malaysian descent through his grandfather. However, FIFA released a statement that his grandfather was not born in nor has Malaysian ancestry, as the documentation submitted by Football Association of Malaysia proven to be doctored. [17]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 May 2025 [18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vitoria 2016–17 Tercera División 18100181
2017–18 Segunda División B 211211
Total39200392
Mirandés 2018–19 Segunda División B51000051
2019–20 Segunda División 000000
Total51000051
Leioa 2019–20 Segunda División B6060
Amorebieta 2020–21 Segunda División B211102 [b] 0241
2021–22 Segunda División19000190
Total4011020431
Sabah 2022–23 Azerbaijan Premier League 30210312
2023–24 Azerbaijan Premier League253003 [c] 0283
2024–25 Azerbaijan Premier League300514 [c] 0391
Total8556170986
Career total17597170201918

International

As of match played 4 September 2025 [19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Malaysia 202520
Total20

Honours

Mirandés

Sabah

Johor Darul Ta'zim

References

  1. "FIFA sanctions Football Association of Malaysia and seven players". inside.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  2. Jon Irazabal at Soccerway
  3. "Galán e Irazabal con pasado en Lezama ganadores del balón de oro 2016 de Cantera Deportiva" [Galán and Irazabal with a past in Lezama winners of the 2016 golden ball of Cantera Deportiva] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  4. "Composición de la plantilla del Tercera División temp 16/17" [Tercera División squad 16/17 season] (in Spanish). CD Vitoria. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  5. "Jon Irazabal, segundo refuerzo del C.D. Mirandés para la próxima temporada" [Jon Irazabal, second addition of C.D. Mirandés for the following season] (in Spanish). CD Mirandés. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  6. "COMUNICADO OFICIAL, C.D.MIRANDÉS S.A.D – Jon Irazabal" [OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT, C.D. MIRANDÉS S.A.D – Jon Irazabal] (in Spanish). CD Mirandés. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. "Fichaje de Jon Irazabal" [Signing of Jon Irazabal] (in Spanish). SD Leioa. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  8. "Despedida de Jon Irazabal" [Farewell of Jon Irazabal] (in Spanish). SD Leioa. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  9. "Jon Irazabal, sexto fichaje de los azules" [Jon Irazabal, sixth signing of the blues] (in Spanish). SD Amorebieta. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  10. "Stuani y Nahuel amargan el debut del Amorebieta" [Stuani and Nahuel bitter the debut of Amorebieta]. Marca (in Spanish). 14 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  11. "Jon Irazabal: del Amorebieta a la Liga Premier de Azerbaiyán" [Jon Irazabal: from Amorebieta to the Azerbaijan Premier League] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  12. "JDT sign Jon Irazabal from Azerbaijani club Sabah FK". The Star. 23 June 2025.
  13. "FIFA Sanctions On FAM: AFC Awaits Football Tribunal Verdict". Bernama . 27 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  14. Taharumalengam, Avineshwaran a/l (5 June 2025). "Big lift for our boys". The Star.
  15. "Match report: Malaysia vs Vietnam, 10 June 2025 – AFC Asian Cup qualification". Global Sports Archive. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  16. "FIFA Sanctions On FAM: AFC Awaits Football Tribunal Verdict". Bernama . 27 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  17. "Malaysian players banned after using forged documents to play qualifier v Vietnam". Reuters. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  18. Jon Irazabal at Soccerway . Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  19. "Jon Irazabal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 11 September 2025.