KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said on Tuesday (Oct 7) it will immediately appeal international football governing body FIFA’s decision to fine FAM and seven foreign-born players, as well as suspend the latter for a year.
The FAM and players used forged or falsified birth certificates of the players’ grandparents to secure their eligibility to play for the national team, FIFA said on Monday in written grounds of its decision made on Sep 25.
The seven naturalised footballers played in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory against Vietnam in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier on Jun 10, with two of them each scoring a goal.
In its written grounds, FIFA said the FAM’s and players’ alleged conduct “constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating, which cannot in any way be condoned”.
“The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play,” Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA’s disciplinary committee, said in his decision.
Contrary to the FAM’s and players’ assertion of diligence, FIFA said they did not “exercise the necessary level of scrutiny or care”.
The FAM must announce its intention to appeal in writing within three days of being notified of FIFA’s grounds of decision.
FIFA’s fine last month of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.85 million or US$438,960) on FAM, and a fine of 2,000 Swiss francs and suspension from all football-related activities for a year on the players, have created a stir in football-mad Malaysia.
On Tuesday, Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the FAM must respond clearly to all the revelations made by FIFA, adding Malaysian football fans are “hurt, angry and disappointed”.
On Sep 27, Johor regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim – who owns Johor Darul Ta’zim, the club that three of the footballers play for – had questioned who had lodged the complaint and why FIFA reversed its earlier decision.
“FIFA has already approved (the naturalisation) before, so why has the decision changed now?” Tunku Ismail said in a post on X.
Here is what happened, according to FIFA’s grounds of decision.
COMPLAINT FILED A DAY AFTER VIETNAM MATCH
In March and June this year, the FAM submitted documents for seven foreign-born players to FIFA, seeking their eligibility to represent Malaysia’s national team.
The seven players are Argentina-born Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca; Spain-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui; Dutch-born Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano and Brazil-born Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo.
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