THE Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has stressed that FIFA’s decision on Malaysia’s heritage players presented an inaccurate account of the issue.
FAM said the allegation that players had “obtained or been aware of falsified documents” was baseless as no solid evidence had been presented.
The association confirmed all seven heritage players involved are legitimate Malaysian citizens.
“As previously explained, the mistake occurred due to a wrong submission — an administrative error — when a staff member mistakenly uploaded documents from an agent instead of official documents issued by the National Registration Department (JPN).”
FAM is now preparing an official appeal using original and valid documents verified by the Government of Malaysia.
The association will submit a formal appeal on this conclusion and remains committed to defending Malaysian football’s integrity.
Last month, FAM and seven heritage players were sanctioned by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
FIFA said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm player eligibility for the Asian Cup 2027 qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.
The penalised players are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
FAM was fined CHF350,000 (about RM1.8 million) while each player received a CHF2,000 (about RM10,560) fine and 12-month suspension from all football activities.
According to FIFA’s latest Disciplinary Committee Secretariat report dated October 6, 2025, several FAM players used falsified documents to circumvent regulations and represent Harimau Malaya. – Bernama
