FAM SAYS FIFA’S ACCOUNT OF HERITAGE PLAYER ISSUE INACCURATE

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has stressed that the International Federation of Association Football's (FIFA) decision on Malaysia’s heritage players presented an inaccurate account of the issue.

In a statement today, FAM said the allegation that players had “obtained or been aware of falsified documents” was baseless, as no solid evidence had been presented so far, adding that all seven heritage players involved are legitimate Malaysian citizens.

“As previously explained, the mistake occurred due to a wrong submission — an administrative error — when a staff member mistakenly uploaded documents from an agent instead of official documents issued by the National Registration Department (JPN).

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“An official appeal is now being prepared using original and valid documents verified by the Government of Malaysia. FAM will submit a formal appeal on this conclusion and remains committed to defending the integrity of Malaysian football based on facts and authentic documents,” the statement said.

Last month, FAM and seven heritage players were sanctioned by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee after being found to have violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code concerning document falsification.

FIFA said that FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility, which allowed them to play in the third-round Asian Cup 2027 qualifying match against Vietnam on June 10.

The seven heritage players penalised are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

As a result, FAM was fined CHF350,000 (about RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification of the decision.

According to the latest report by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee Secretariat dated Oct 6, 2025, several players under FAM were found to have used falsified documents to circumvent the international body’s regulations, enabling them to represent Harimau Malaya.

-- BERNAMA