KUALA LUMPUR - The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has been urged to immediately set up a strong legal team to handle the appeal proceedings over the sanctions imposed on the national football governing body and its seven heritage players by FIFA recently.
Former FAM Executive Committee member Datuk Christopher Raj also suggested that FAM should not just rely on its Disciplinary Committee members, but instead seek the views and assistance of external experts to strengthen the appeal and prepare for the possibility of legal action by FIFA.
Christopher, who described the fiasco as another dark moment in the history of football in the country, said FAM needs to do so since the matter has been referred by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to the FIFA Football Tribunal, which comprises former lawyers with decades of experience.
"So, FAM cannot take their expertise lightly,” he said in a statement today.
On Friday, FAM and seven heritage players were penalised by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee for violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code concerning document falsification.
In a statement, FIFA said FAM was found to have submitted falsified documents to verify the players’ eligibility, allowing them to be fielded in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
The seven players sanctioned are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
As a result, FAM was fined CHF350,000 (about RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification of the decision.
Yesterday, FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman admitted that a technical error had been identified in the process of submitting documents by the governing body’s administrative staff.
Noor Azman said FAM takes the matter seriously and stressed that the players involved are legitimate Malaysian citizens.
He said FAM is awaiting FIFA’s full judgment before filing an appeal in accordance with existing legal processes. - BERNAMA