NATIONAL TEAM MANAGEMENT NOT INVOLVED IN DOCUMENTATION PROCESS - ROB FRIEND

PETALING JAYA, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Harimau Malaya chief executive officer Rob Friend today clarified that the national team management had no involvement in the documentation or registration process of the seven heritage players currently under FIFA investigation.

Friend said his side only became involved after FIFA had officially approved the players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia.

“We’re not involved in any of the documentation registration. But we were ready and available when these players would be accepted by FIFA.

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“...once the documentation registration was completed, FIFA would issue a document that approved the players to play for the national team,” he said during a press conference here, today.

In the meantime, he said his main priority now is to protect the integrity of the national team and that prompted him to engage top international legal experts, including Serge Vittoz, to assist FAM in defending the case after FIFA had initiated disciplinary proceedings against the national football body and the players since Aug 22.

“There are players who have bled for this country. They represent this country. They’re Malaysians. My responsibility is to protect these players, protect the integrity of the national team,” he said.

Earlier, FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram announced Vittoz as their legal council, an international sports lawyer from Geneva and London based law firm, Charles Russell Speechlys.

Friend said he had also travelled to FIFA’s legal offices in Miami, United States to better understand what had actually happened on the seven heritage players issue.

Friend, who was appointed late last year, is the main leader in the new organisational structure for the Harimau Malaya squad’s revolution.

Last month, FAM and seven naturalised players - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel - were penalised by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee after allegedly being found guilty of violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.

In a statement, FIFA alleged that the FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the eligibility of the players, allowing them to compete in the third-round match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.

As a result, FAM was fined CHF350,000 (approximately 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.

In a previous statement, FAM explained that it had identified a technical error in the submission process involving the seven players’ documents, which was made by an administrative staff member.

FAM had also stated that it did not rule out the possibility of taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the appeal at the FIFA level fails to yield a positive outcome.

-- BERNAMA