FAM pursues appeal against Fifa sanctions at Court of Arbitration for Sport

 

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has confirmed that it has submitted its Statement of Appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the International Federation of Association Football’s (Fifa) sanctions against the national football body and seven heritage players.

Acting president Yusoff Mahadi said CAS has given FAM’s legal representatives 10 days, until Dec 18, to submit the full written arguments.

“FAM reiterates its full commitment to undertaking this process professionally, transparently, and in full respect of all established legal procedures,” he said in a statement today, adding that FAM will share updates on subsequent developments.

On Sept 26, Fifa confirmed that FAM and seven heritage players - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel were found guilty of violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.

Investigations revealed that FAM had submitted documents believed to have been falsified to confirm the eligibility of the players, allowing them to compete in the third round match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers on June 10, where Malaysia won 4-0 against Vietnam in their Group F match.

Consequently, FAM was ordered to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.8 million), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.

Hopes for the penalty to be reduced were dashed when the FIFA Appeal Committee rejected the appeals filed by FAM and the players on Nov 3, thereby upholding the Disciplinary Committee’s decision on the violation of Article 22 of the FDC.

As such, FAM has to bring the case to CAS to ensure justice is served and to defend the integrity of the player eligibility process set by the government and the relevant authorities.

- Bernama