KUALA LUMPUR — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has hired what it claims to be one of the world’s best legal teams to challenge FIFA’s sanctions over the eligibility of seven naturalised Harimau Malaya players — a move that possibly reflects the association’s scramble to contain the most damaging scandal in its history.
Amid a visibly tense press conference today, Harimau Malaya CEO Rob Friend said that the decision to bring in top sports lawyer Serge Vittoz from Charles Russell Speechlys was part of FAM’s effort to restore credibility after being accused of fielding ineligible players in World Cup qualifiers.
“When the case came in from FIFA, I knew I had to protect the players who represent the country. Some of them bled for Malaysia — they’ve given everything,” Friend said.
“That’s why I flew to Zurich, met with some of the best lawyers in the world, and later travelled to Miami, where FIFA’s legal office is, to understand exactly what went wrong.”
He insisted the national team had no role in the alleged documentation irregularities that led to the sanctions, saying the issue fell under administrative oversight.
“The sanctions by FIFA concern documentation. From the national team’s perspective, we were not involved in that,” Friend said.
“Our job is to identify players in the talent pool. Once registration is cleared by FIFA, those players become eligible for selection. That’s it.”
Friend also lashed out at what he called “borderline ridiculous” online speculation, saying much of it unfairly targeted Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who chairs the national team’s setup but holds no administrative post within FAM.
Meanwhile, Vittoz said the FIFA Appeal Committee’s ruling is expected by October 30, with players allowed to take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if dissatisfied.
Vittoz maintained that FAM’s focus was to “protect the players and the institution,” insisting that the association had “no involvement in any alleged forgery.”
“The appeal seeks to annul all sanctions and show there was no forgery by the players or FAM,” he clarified.
FIFA had earlier fined FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.85 million) and banned seven “heritage players” for 12 months after discovering irregularities in documents used to confirm their Malaysian ancestry.
In an attempt to demonstrate accountability, FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram announced the formation of an independent governance committee to investigate the matter internally.
“The committee will ensure such incidents do not happen again and align FAM with international football standards,” he said. — October 17, 2025