JDT owner criticises FIFA for upholding 12-month bans on seven heritage players, vows to fight at CAS
PETALING JAYA: National team advisor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has issued a scathing rebuke of FIFA’s decision to uphold sanctions against seven Malaysian heritage players, vowing to support their fight all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) owner accused the world football governing body of misinterpreting its own rules, specifically the application of Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code in the document falsification controversy.
“FIFA continues to punish the players by misapplying the law, whereby Article 22 of the FIFA Code states that sanctions can only be imposed on those who falsify or use falsified documents, and none of that applies to the players,” Tunku Ismail stated on Facebook.
He went further to suggest political motivations behind the ruling: “In other words, the sanction is imposed without being based on the law and appears to be politically motivated rather than anything else.”
Tunku Ismail made clear his commitment to standing by the affected footballers as they prepare to escalate their case to CAS, an independent international sports tribunal.
“Some choose to point fingers, some choose to make noise, while I choose to stand and support the fight for the players at all costs till the end, which will now be at CAS – an independent body,” he declared.
On Monday, FIFA’s appeal committee maintained the sanctions originally imposed on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players in connection with the document falsification scandal.
The ruling confirmed FAM’s violation of Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code concerning forgery and falsification, initially determined by FIFA’s disciplinary committee in September.
Under the upheld decision, FAM faces a substantial fine of CHF350,000 (approximately RM1.9 million).
The seven affected players – Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel – were each ordered to pay CHF2,000 (around RM10,600) and received 12-month bans from all football-related activities.
FAM has been granted 10 days to request FIFA’s complete written judgment. Following receipt of the detailed decision, the association will have an additional 21 days to lodge its appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The case has significant implications for Malaysian football, affecting both the national team’s player pool and the country’s football governance reputation on the international stage.
