PETALING JAYA: Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim will personally bear all costs incurred by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in bringing the case involving seven mixed heritage players to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
According to a local daily, Tunku Ismail stated in a brief message: "Saya tanggung semua, bukan duit rakyat" (I will bear the cost, not the people’s money).
He had also hinted at this during a press conference in Subang Jaya on Oct 25.
"Yes, I will bear all the costs if FAM asks for assistance,” said Tunku Ismail at the time.
On Monday (Nov 3), FIFA rejected FAM’s appeal and upheld all sanctions, including a 12-month suspension for the seven players, among them Holgado, and a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8mil) against the national body.
FAM have since stated that it has requested a motivated decision from FIFA and would act based on the advice of their legal counsel before proceeding to CAS. – THE STAR