Fifa overturns three Harimau Malaya match results

 

The national football team has technically lost three matches in the latest penalty that has beset Harimau Malaya due to ineligible players.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said the sport’s global governing body, International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), has overturned the results of three of the national squad’s Tier 1 international friendly matches played in May and September.

FAM has also been fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (RM51,000) for breaching Article 19 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code for fielding ineligible players for the three matches, the association said in a statement.

The statement did not specify who the ineligible players were.

The matches affected were:

• Malaysia vs Cape Verde at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on May 29, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

• Malaysia vs Singapore at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Sept 4, which saw Malaysia winning 2–1.

• Malaysia vs Palestine at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Johor on Sept 8, with Malaysia winning 1-0.

Fifa’s disciplinary committee meeting, chaired by its deputy chairperson Jorge Palacio, ruled that the national squad lost by 3-0 for all the above matches.

FAM said it will get the official ruling from Fifa before deciding on the next course of action.

Forged documents

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.

For this, FAM was also ordered to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs, while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.

FAM has since submitted its Statement of Appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge Fifa’s ruling.

In another development, an independent probe into the forgery claims has hit a roadblock, with crucial documents withheld and implicated parties refusing to cooperate, the panel said.

In its 59-page report released yesterday, the four-member independent investigation committee said its investigation is limited, as it does not have legal powers to demand documents, force people to attend interviews, or examine records forensically. - Mkini