FIFA has determined that several players under the Football Association of Malaysia utilised forged documents to bypass regulations for Harimau Malaya eligibility.
Investigatory reports from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee revealed evidence contradicting FAM’s submissions in seven separate proceedings.
The Secretariat obtained original birth certificates showing the players’ grandparents originated from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and the Netherlands.
FAM’s filings inaccurately listed these grandparents as originating from various Malaysian states including Malacca, Penang, Johor, and Kuching.
FAM confirmed receiving FIFA’s full written judgement suspending seven heritage players for disciplinary code violations.
The association will formally appeal through proper legal channels with all supporting evidence ready for immediate submission.
FAM specifically disputes FIFA’s conclusions regarding players obtaining falsified documents or deliberately circumventing eligibility rules.
Last month’s sanctions followed FIFA’s finding that FAM violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code concerning document falsification.
FIFA alleged FAM submitted falsified documents that enabled players to feature in the Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.
The seven sanctioned players are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
FAM received a 350,000 Swiss franc fine while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and suspended for 12 months from all football activities. – Bernama