KUALA LUMPUR — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has suspended its secretary-general and set up an independent committee to investigate a “technical error” that prompted FIFA to sanction seven naturalised national players over the alleged use of falsified documents. The move came after FIFA’s disciplinary committee ruled that Malaysian authorities may have relied on forged records to establish the players’ Malaysian heritage. Players affected include Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.
At a tense press conference on Friday, FAM leaders and their legal advisers denied any institutional wrongdoing but declined to explain how the naturalisation process had been handled, citing an ongoing appeal before FIFA’s appeals committee.“The objective of the appeal is to have all sanctions annulled and to demonstrate that there was no forgery on the side of the players,” said FAM’s lawyer Serge Vittoz. “If any wrongdoing was done, it should be targeted to the person in question,” he added.
FAM deputy president S. Sivasundaram announced that secretary-general Noor Azman Rahman was suspended with immediate effect to ensure transparency in the pending investigation. He described the irregularities as stemming from a “technical error” during document submissions that were rushed to meet player registration deadlines. The disciplinary action followed outrage across Malaysia, where fans and lawmakers demanded accountability from both FAM and government bodies involved in granting citizenship to the footballers.
FIFA’s ruling said the discrepancies were discovered after it obtained original birth certificates that differed significantly from those provided by FAM. The Malaysian sports body faces potential further penalties if its appeal, expected to be decided on Oct 30, fails. Government officials have defended the naturalisation process, saying the players fulfilled citizenship criteria, although Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail acknowledged he had used ministerial discretion to relax certain requirements.
The controversy marks one of the most serious legitimacy crises for Malaysian football in recent years, with several prominent commentators urging immediate reforms in athlete registration and citizenship vetting procedures.