PETALING JAYA: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) are taking a wait-and-see approach following FIFA’s ruling that the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had submitted forged documents to register seven heritage players.
AFC secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor Paul said the regional body would only act after FAM had completed all its legal options with FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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"We have to wait for FAM’s process of appeal and let them exhaust all their legal avenues on this matter," said Windsor.
"Once the full legal process is done, then the next action would be taken. It is very, very early to issue anything now when the legal process is ongoing."
On Monday (Oct 6), FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee ruled that FAM had submitted forged documents to register seven heritage players.
The committee discovered major discrepancies between the original birth certificates obtained by FIFA and the ones submitted by FAM to support the players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia.
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The seven players involved are Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, and Joao Figueiredo.
FIFA found both FAM and the players guilty of breaching Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which pertains to the falsification and use of forged documents in official proceedings.
As a result, FAM were fined 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8mil), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM11,000) and handed a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.
After receiving the Motivated Decision, FIFA’s detailed judgment, on Oct 6, FAM have three days to decide whether to appeal.
If FAM choose to proceed, they must notify FIFA in writing within those three days, before submitting a formal appeal within the following five days.
Should FAM’s appeal to FIFA fail, they will have ten days to request the appeal from the FIFA Appeal Committee before taking the case to CAS.
Once CAS delivers their ruling, the decision will be forwarded to the AFC.
Regardless of the outcome, the case will be referred back to the AFC’s Disciplinary Committee to determine whether FAM breached any competition regulations and to decide on further action if necessary.
