PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have suspended their secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman (pic) with immediate effect following an investigation by the International Football Federation (FIFA) into the eligibility status of seven mixed-heritage Harimau Malaya players.
FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram said the suspension was necessary to ensure a transparent investigation process.
Azman will remain suspended until FAM’s internal investigation into a technical error in the submission of documents to FIFA is completed.
Sivasundaram said FAM would announce their decision once the independent committee conclude their findings.
“I’ve said that we have appointed an independent committee to conduct the investigation. We don’t want the secretary-general to be around as we want the process to be transparent.
“Once the investigation is completed, we will announce the outcome,” said Sivasundaram.
FAM have come under global scrutiny after FIFA alleged elements of forgery involving seven mixed-heritage players, following the discovery of discrepancies in several submitted documents.
FIFA managed to obtain the original birth certificates of the seven players – Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Joao Figueiredo – after finding inconsistencies in their original registration papers.
The FIFA disciplinary committee stated that the sanctions were imposed for violations of Article 22 of the FIFA disciplinary code, which concerns the falsification and alteration of official documents.
As a result, FIFA fined FAM and the national body had to pay up RM1.8mil while each player was penalised RM11,000 and handed a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.
