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THE FIFA appeal committee has upheld all sanctions issued against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players involved in the use of falsified documents for national-team eligibility.
In a decision finalised on Nov 3, the committee backed the earlier ruling by its disciplinary body that FAM and the players had relied on falsified birth certificates to claim Malaysian ancestry for national-team selection.
Calling the offences a fundamental threat to the integrity of international football, FIFA said it is launching a formal investigation into the FAM internal operations.
Last month, FAM claimed the dispute with Fifa stemmed from an “administrative error” after a staff member mistakenly uploaded documents from an agent instead of the official ones issued by the national registration department (JPN).
FIFA ruled that FAM showed clear negligence in its handling of the naturalisation process, pointing to contradictory records, unverified ancestry claims and a failure to address repeated requests for clarification from FIFA officials.
According to Fifa, the seven “heritage” players do not have any grandparents born in Malaysia as claimed.
The forged documents enabled the players to obtain Malaysian passports and eligibility clearance, allowing them to feature in international matches, including the 4-0 win over Vietnam in an Asian Cup qualifier in June, in which two naturalised players scored.
Fifa’s appeal committee said it was both “surprised” and “disappointed” with FAM’s failure to identify the individuals responsible for the tampering, their rank, or their specific roles within the association.
The committee, in its written judgment upholding the sanctions meted out on FAM and the seven players in September, said the failure was “deeply troubling”.
In September, Fifa sanctioned FAM and its seven “heritage” players over the matter.
Fifa had imposed a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million) on FAM, while the players - Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal, and Hector Hevel - were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs. – November 18, 2025
