FAM to finally lodge police report over forgery claims

 

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will lodge a police report on the alleged falsification of citizenship documents linked to seven “heritage” players under the national team.

Addressing a press conference today, FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi said the association’s executive committee had agreed to file the report in line with the recommendation made by an independent investigation committee (IIC) formed to probe the matter.

“We will lodge a police report within the next one to two days to allow the authorities to conduct a full investigation.

“The report will concern (an alleged) breach (related to) documents submitted to Fifa (International Federation of Association Football). We want the police to investigate how the breach occurred and who is responsible,” Yusoff said.

He added that Fifa will also be initiating a probe into suspended FAM secretary-general Noor Azman Rahman, who will be referred to the local association’s disciplinary committee for further action.

“We received an email from Fifa two to three days ago. Fifa wants to examine (Azman’s) roles, responsibilities, and involvement, particularly the flow and handling of documents. They want a detailed explanation of the process,” Yusoff said.

He noted that Azman’s case has additionally been referred to the “relevant government department”.

IIC’s findings

Previously, in its report published on Dec 16, the four-member IIC called on FAM to lodge a police report as Fifa had accused FAM and the seven players of forging or falsifying official documents, which is a criminal offence under Malaysian law.

In making its recommendation to allow a proper probe into the suspected forgery, the IIC explained that it does not have the authority to investigate criminal matters, as such alleged offences fall under the jurisdiction of the police.

The IIC also found that FAM lacked proper internal oversight and recommended disciplinary proceedings for Azman, who was previously suspended on Oct 17.

The panel said FAM’s legal manager, Zainul Ariffin, had uploaded the players’ documents to Fifa’s legal portal, under instructions from Azman.

However, the IIC found that the latter’s instructions were delivered without confirming the documents’ authenticity, despite the original handwritten birth records being unavailable from the National Registration Department.

On Dec 10, former FAM president, Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, said FAM officials should resign from their posts if they committed wrongdoings linked to the alleged forgery of citizenship documents for the seven players.

Fifa’s probe

Fifa had earlier initiated an investigation into FAM and seven Harimau Malaya players - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.

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The players were found guilty of violating Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.

The seven ‘heritage’ players

The global football body’s probes found that FAM had submitted allegedly falsified documents 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.

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.

Following the Fifa Appeal Committee’s Nov 3 rejection of an appeal filed by FAM and the players, which claimed a technical error, FAM had on Dec 8 submitted its Statement of Appeal to the CAS.

Fifa had also overturned the results of three of the national squad’s Tier 1 international friendly matches played in May and September.

FAM was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs for breaching Article 19 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code for fielding ineligible players for the three matches. - Mkini