2025: LOCAL FOOTBALL ROCKED BY FIFA'S REVELATION OF DOCUMENT FORGERY BY FAM

By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- The 2025 season will be remembered as the most challenging moment in the history of national football when the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven national heritage players were fined by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) over document forgery offences.

The climax occurred on the evening of Sept 26 when FIFA, in an official statement, confirmed that FAM and seven players - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel - were found to have violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).

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The investigation found that FAM had submitted documents believed to be falsified to confirm the eligibility of all these players, enabling them to secure a 4-0 victory against Vietnam in the Group F match of the 2027 Asia Cup Qualification round here last June.

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

Hopes of seeing the penalty reduced were dashed when the FIFA Appeals Committee rejected the appeal filed by FAM and all seven players on Nov 3, thus upholding the decision of the Disciplinary Committee regarding the serious violation of Article 22 FDC.

However, on Nov 18, FAM announced that it would begin the process of taking the documentation case of the seven national heritage players to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold justice and defend the integrity of the player qualification process set by the government and related bodies.

The implications of this dark episode elicited various reactions from stakeholders in the national football ecosystem.

Several analysts and former players opined that the high-profile case was not just a blow to administrative integrity, with some describing it as even worse than the 1994 corruption scandal, one of the worst crises ever to hit local football.

The majority of fans demanded a comprehensive reform within FAM, calling for new leadership, greater transparency, and stricter accountability, in addition to drastic measures to restore the reputation of the governing body. However, some fans defended FAM and questioned FIFA's actions.

Earlier, FAM also drew attention when it appointed its former president Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin as Honorary President in June and the resignation of Datuk Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub as president at the end of August, about six months after he took the helm of the governing body.

However, despite the bleak episode, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The off-field issues did not affect the momentum of the Harimau Malaya squad, which closed the year's matches with an undefeated record.

The team coached by Peter Cklamovski recorded seven wins and one draw in international friendly matches and the 2027 Asia Cup Qualification round, respectively.

This excellent momentum has allowed Malaysia to now lead the Group F standings in the 2027 Asia Cup Qualification after maintaining a 100 percent winning record in five matches, with one remaining match against Vietnam next March.

The national squad opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Nepal in March before securing a surprise 4-0 defeat of Vietnam. The momentum continued with double victories of 3-0 and 5-1 over Laos last month, before once again defeating Nepal 1-0 in this month's match.

Malaysia also showed positive form when the country's world ranking climbed to 116th, its best position in 20 years.

Meanwhile, questions regarding the capability and progress of the national Under-23 (U-23) squad under the management of Mohd Nafuzi Zain continue to circulate after the national team failed to achieve any proud successes.

Mohd Nafuzi's charges were eliminated in the group stage of the ASEAN U-23 Championship in Indonesia in July before failing to qualify for the 2026 U-23 Asia Cup finals after being defeated in the Group F qualifying round in Thailand in September.

The former Terengganu FC coach and his team now face another tough task at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, scheduled to start this month (December), with Malaysia drawn in Group B alongside Vietnam and Laos.

Meanwhile, on the domestic stage, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) started the 2025/26 Malaysia League campaign in style by defending the Charity Shield for the eighth consecutive time after defeating Selangor FC 3-0 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri in Johor in August.

The Southern Tigers squad is the favorite to emerge as the Super League champions this season, thus clinching their 12th consecutive championship after far surpassing other rivals at the top of the league currently, besides also being on track to pursue the FA Cup title.

In conclusion, the year 2025 left a profound impact on the national football landscape after FAM was embroiled in the document forgery issue.

Although FAM is trying to take the case to CAS, the demand for reform and internal renewal continues to resonate among sports analysts and fans.

However, despite the administrative turmoil, the performance of the Harimau Malaya squad at least injects confidence that national football still has a positive direction, even though off-field challenges still need to be addressed.

-- BERNAMA