KUALA LUMPUR — The national football governing body has acknowledged a technical mistake by its administration staff in submitting documents to FIFA, after the world body sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and several naturalised “heritage players”.
FAM, through its secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, said it is waiting for FIFA’s full written judgment before filing an appeal.
“We have identified a technical error in the process of submitting documents carried out by our administrative staff. FAM takes this matter seriously,” Noor Azman said in a statement today.
“However, we would like to emphasise that the heritage players involved are legitimate Malaysian citizens.”
FIFA’s ruling on Friday saw the FAM fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.85 million), while seven heritage players were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,570) and barred from all football-related activities for 12 months.
The sanctions were linked to alleged irregularities in the registration of heritage players — Malaysians of foreign birth but local ancestry — who had already been fielded in international matches.
FAM insists that it had acted transparently and informed FIFA about the players’ eligibility, and is now preparing a full legal challenge once the judgment grounds are received. — September 28, 2025