'Elect a President now': FAM urged to drop February poll date amid FIFA crisis
The presidential seat has been vacant since Datuk Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub resigned in August, leaving Deputy President Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi to serve as acting president.
SHAH ALAM – Former Malaysian Football Association (FAM) Exco member Datuk Christopher Raj has called on FAM to immediately elect a new president and form an independent task force following the document forgery crisis involving heritage players, which has plunged Malaysian football into turmoil.
He said the absence of leadership in FAM has left the governing body directionless, especially at a time when urgent representation is needed to appeal to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) over the heavy sanctions imposed on the association.
“FAM must elect a new president immediately. We do not need to wait until next year because right now there is no leader.
"It is like a ship without a captain. With the ongoing crisis, who will bring this issue to FIFA? No one,” Christopher said.
The presidential seat has been vacant since Datuk Mohd Joehari Mohd Ayub resigned in August, leaving Deputy President Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi to serve as acting president.
Christopher stressed that FIFA only communicates officially with the President and Secretary-General of FAM, not with any other individual, which makes it even more urgent to hold an election.
“Why does FAM want to wait until February next year to hold the election? They should do it in November or December. It does not matter who becomes president; what matters is that the election process must be held immediately,” he said.
He also urged the formation of a special investigation committee comprising independent members who are not connected to Malaysian football, to thoroughly investigate how such a serious administrative blunder could happen.
“This task force must identify the root cause of the failure, detect weaknesses in the system, and present a full report to the new FAM president for follow-up action. Only through transparency and accountability can supporters’ confidence be restored,” Christopher said.
The controversy began when FAM and seven heritage players were sanctioned by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee for violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document forgery.
According to FIFA, FAM had submitted falsified documents to verify the players’ eligibility, which allowed them to participate in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
The players involved were Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
As a result, FAM was fined CHF 350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF 2,000 (around RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date the decision was notified.
In an official document titled Notification of the Grounds of the Decision, FIFA revealed the main reason behind the players’ suspension and the fine imposed on FAM.
To this, FAM confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that it had received the document and would file an appeal through the official legal channels provided.
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