THE Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) must immediately assemble a strong legal team for its appeal against recent FIFA sanctions.
Former FAM Executive Committee member Datuk Christopher Raj urged the association not to rely solely on its Disciplinary Committee members.
He suggested FAM seek external expert views and assistance to strengthen the appeal and prepare for potential FIFA legal action.
Christopher described the situation as another dark moment in Malaysian football history.
He emphasised that FAM cannot take lightly the expertise of the FIFA Football Tribunal, which comprises former lawyers with decades of experience.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee penalised FAM and seven heritage players for violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code concerning document falsification.
FIFA stated that FAM submitted falsified documents to verify player eligibility for the Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.
The sanctioned players are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
FAM received a 350,000 Swiss franc fine, approximately 1.8 million ringgit.
Each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs, about 10,560 ringgit, and suspended for 12 months from all football activities.
FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman yesterday admitted a technical error occurred during document submission by administrative staff.
Noor Azman stressed that FAM takes the matter seriously and confirmed the players are legitimate Malaysian citizens.
He stated FAM awaits FIFA’s full judgment before filing an appeal through proper legal processes. – Bernama
