KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian Football Association on Friday announced the suspension of its general secretary pending an investigation after soccer governing body FIFA accused Malaysia of cheating by using ineligible players.
In September, FIFA has imposed a suspension. Seven overseas players who represented Malaysia in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers have been fined $438,000 by FAM for forging or falsifying documents involving the players’ grandparents. Malaysia defeated Vietnam 4-0 in the June match.
FAM vice-chairman Sivasundaram Sithamparam Pillai said on Friday that FAM has set up a committee to investigate the incident and ensure that similar incidents do not happen again. He said he had suspended FAM Secretary-General Noor Azman Rahman to allow the committee to conduct an independent investigation. He said FAM members would not sit on the committee, but gave no further details.
“FAM maintains that these players were legally naturalized in accordance with Malaysian law,” he said. “FAM remains steadfast in its mission of being transparent and safeguarding the reputation of Malaysian football.”
The case has become an embarrassment for Malaysian football, where former FAM president Hamidin bin Haji Mohd Amin currently serves on the 37-member FIFA Council.
Malaysia also had Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who was a member of the FIFA Adjudication Committee from 2015 to 2019 and served as King for five years until 2024.
International sports lawyer Serge Witts, who represents FAM, said FIFA was scheduled to make a decision on Malaysia’s appeal against the sanctions on October 30, adding that the main issue in the appeal was that FAM and the seven players were not responsible for any forgery.
“There was no fabrication on the part of the players. There was no fabrication on the part of FAM as an organization. If there was any misconduct, that person should be targeted,” he said at a FAM press conference, but did not elaborate on who would be held responsible.
If this fails, FAM could seek relief from liability and file a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, he said.
forged document
FIFA said in a report last month that FAM submitted false documents claiming that the seven players’ grandparents were born in Malaysia and that they were eligible to represent the country under FIFA’s nationality rules. The commission said the original certificates showed that the family members were indeed born in the same countries as the players: Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain.
The FIFA report said FAM admitted it had been “contacted by an external body regarding the players’ legacies but did not independently verify the authenticity of the documents”.
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