CLAIMS ABOUT FUTURE OF CKLAMOVSKI MERE SPECULATION - MOHD YUSOFF

BANGI, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The Acting President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi, claimed that news about Harimau Malaya head coach Peter Cklamovski's future as nothing more than wild speculation played up by external parties.

When questioned by reporters, Mohd Yusoff, however, refused to elaborate on the rumours spreading on social media that claimed the fifth Group F match against Nepal for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium this Tuesday would be Cklamovski's final game with the national squad.

"No comment. Mere speculation? I consider it wild too," he said after watching the 2025 Sultans’ Gold Cup final between Kuala Lumpur and Malaysian Armed Forces at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Stadium here, tonight.

Meanwhile, he also confirmed that FAM has requested written grounds for the decision from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) after their appeal regarding the documentation issue of naturalised players was rejected.

He also could not anticipate when FIFA would provide a response regarding the written grounds they recently submitted.

"For now, we can only wait. After that (receiving written grounds from FIFA), we have a period of 21 days (to take the case) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)," he said.

On Nov 3, FIFA rejected appeals by FAM and seven naturalised players, namely Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.

The FIFA Appeal Committee upheld the penalty imposed by the Disciplinary Committee of the governing body against FAM and the seven naturalised players for offences related to the falsification of documents under Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).

Consequently, FAM was ordered to pay a fine of CHF350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (about RM11,000) while the seven players were also suspended for 12 months from football-related activities.

Regarding the organisation of the 2025 Sultans’ Gold Cup final, Mohd Yusoff described the 103rd edition of the competition as lively, despite the wet weather throughout the match, which saw Kuala Lumpur emerge as champions after a slim 1-0 victory over the Malaysian Armed Forces.

-- BERNAMA