KUALA LUMPUR — FIFA’s Appeal Committee has rebuked the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for “shielding” those responsible for submitting falsified birth documents in an attempt to secure eligibility for seven heritage players to represent Harimau Malaya.
In its motivated decision released today, the committee rejected FAM’s explanation that the matter stemmed from an “administrative error”.
Last month, FAM claimed a staff member had mistakenly uploaded documents from an agent instead of certified records from the National Registration Department (JPN).
However, when pressed on whether any action had been taken against the staff involved, FAM deputy president S. Sivasundaram told reporters on October 17 that the association had yet to identify the individuals responsible.
The Appeal Committee said it was “surprised” and “disappointed” by FAM’s ongoing failure to determine who handled or altered the documents, describing the omission as “deeply troubling”.
It stressed that FAM had neither identified the officials involved nor taken any “concrete” disciplinary action, such as suspensions, dismissals, or referrals to domestic authorities.
“This omission suggests a lack of accountability and raises serious concerns about governance within the organisation,” the committee said.
“The continued shielding of confessed culpable staff members, coupled with vague assertions of administrative error, appears to be a tactical manoeuvre designed to deflect institutional responsibility while preserving internal cohesion.”
The panel noted that despite months passing since the investigation began, FAM had still not named those involved in the forgery, despite admitting that alterations had taken place.
It said this inability to establish accountability called into question FAM’s internal controls and commitment to integrity.
FIFA also highlighted what it described as a direct confession from FAM general-secretary Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, who acknowledged during a hearing that members of the administration had “engaged in handling and formatting certain copies of birth certificates… including the altered content”.
FAM and seven naturalised Malaysian footballers were sanctioned in September after FIFA determined that falsified documents were submitted to confirm player eligibility ahead of Malaysia’s 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.
FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.9 million), while the players — Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,560) and handed a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.
FIFA said it had obtained the original birth certificates of the players’ grandparents directly from foreign registries and found “sharp contrasts” compared to the versions submitted by FAM.
The discrepancies included altered birthplace details, with records originally showing Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the Netherlands being changed to locations in Melaka, Penang, Johor and Sarawak.
Following the sanctions, FAM described the issue as a “technical error” in the documents submitted for the match against Vietnam. — November 18, 2025