HERITAGE PLAYERS ISSUE: FAM ACCEPTS FIFA'S DECISION ON APPEAL - ACTING PRESIDENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has accepted FIFA’s decision rejecting its appeal over the documentation of seven Malaysian heritage players.

Acting FAM President Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said that they would write to FIFA to obtain full details and written reasons of the decision before taking the next step to submit an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

“This is the first time FAM is facing this type of situation, and the lawyers and our management are very shocked by this decision.

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“However, FAM will continue to strongly champion the rights of our players and the interests of Malaysian football at the international level,” he said in a statement tonight.

FIFA in a statement earlier said its Appeal Committee has rendered its decision on the appeals lodged by the FAM and seven heritage players against the decision issued by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for breaches of article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) concerning forgery and falsification.

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

It said after analysing the submissions and conducting a hearing, the Appeal Committee decided to dismiss the appeals, and upheld the sanctions imposed upon FAM and the seven national heritage players.

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.

In its previous statement, FIFA said 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.

FAM had then 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.

According to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary general Datuk Seri Windsor John, they will only begin its disciplinary review through the disciplinary committee once the final decision is received from the FIFA or CAS.

-- BERNAMA