PUTRAJAYA: The Home Ministry insists that the process of granting citizenship to seven national heritage players was carried out in accordance with the law, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said there was no cause for concern as all processes were carried out properly and carefully by the ministry in line with Article 19(1) of the Federal Constitution.
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"Why should there be any worry if you (the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM)) did the right thing?
"What constitutes doing the right thing? Follow the Federal Constitution, follow the existing acts or laws, and follow Article 19 of the Federal Constitution," he said in his speech at the ministry's monthly assembly here Tuesday (Sept 30).
He said National Registration Department director-general Datuk Badrul Hisham Alias had also scrutinised every process involved in granting citizenship to the heritage players concerned.
"All (processes) are done in order; we make it clear unless we contravene all of that. (For example) pushing aside the Acts and ignoring the Constitution, just bulldozing through.
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"Then there would be a reason to be worried, trying to hide something that doesn't exist or creating something that isn't there," he said.
Recently, the FAM and seven national heritage players were sanctioned by FIFA's Disciplinary Committee for breaching Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), relating to document falsification.
According to FIFA, FAM was found to have submitted forged documents to confirm the eligibility of the players, which allowed them to feature in the third-round match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
The seven players involved are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.
As a result, FAM was fined CHF350,000 (about RM1.8mil), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification of the decision. - Bernama
