Fifa officials tried to stop FAM from appealing to CAS, claims TMJ

The Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, alleges that a warning was conveyed to FAM honorary president Hamidin Amin.

Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim slammed attempts to prevent FAM from seeking justice, saying this could harm the interest of Malaysian football. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Johor Darul Ta’zim owner Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has alleged that certain individuals from Fifa tried to prevent the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) from filing an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the global football body’s sanctions.

Tunku Ismail claimed that the warning was conveyed to FAM honorary president Hamidin Amin to prevent the case from being escalated to the CAS, according to Harian Metro.

“They don’t want us to bring the matter to CAS. They personally told Hamidin not to go to CAS,” he said during an engagement session with JDT supporters in Johor Bahru.

Tunku Ismail slammed such attempts to block efforts to seek justice, saying this could harm the interest of Malaysian football.

“I don’t know if they were scared or not, you can ask Hamidin yourself. They said not to take it to CAS, and there were even threats that if we did, there would be suspensions or harsher penalties,” he said, without disclosing the identities of the individuals involved.

On Monday, it was reported that FAM officially initiated an appeal at the CAS over the sanctions imposed by Fifa on the association and seven Harimau Malaya heritage players.

Acting president Yusoff Mahadi said CAS had given FAM’s legal team 10 days to submit its full written arguments, with the deadline set for Dec 18.

On Nov 3, Fifa announced that it had rejected FAM’s appeal against its sanctions “in its entirety” and that Harimau Malaya’s points in their ongoing 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign might be docked.

FAM and the seven naturalised Malaysian footballers were penalised by Fifa after the world football body said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility before Malaysia’s 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.

FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.8 million) while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification.

The seven players are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel. - FMT