KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — The International Federation of Association Football's (Fifa) Appeal Committee has upheld the sanctions imposed by its disciplinary committee against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven heritage players for breaches related to forgery and falsification under Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC).
The committee confirmed that it had dismissed the appeals lodged by FAM and the players: Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.
In a statement published on Fifa's official website, it said the FAM has been ordered to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million), while each player has been fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM11,000). The seven players have also been suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities.
Fifa added that the sanctions were confirmed after analysing submissions and conducting a hearing, and that the FAM and the players have 10 days to request a motivated decision, and 21 days thereafter to file an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Last month, the FAM and seven heritage players were sanctioned by Fifa's disciplinary committee after being found guilty of violating Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.
Fifa stated that the FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players' eligibility, allowing them to compete in the third-round match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
The FAM then explained that it had identified a technical error in the submission process involving the seven players’ documents, which was caused by an administrative staff member, and filed an official appeal with Fifa regarding the issue shortly thereafter.
