PETALING JAYA: Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has expressed surprise that the report lodged with FIFA over the eligibility of seven Malaysian heritage players did not come from any official of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), but from an ordinary individual.
Earlier reports had claimed that a Vietnamese representative on FIFA’s disciplinary committee had filed the complaint involving the seven players.
This came after FIFA imposed sanctions on the FA of Malaysia (FAM) and the seven players on Sept 26 for allegedly falsifying documents.
FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram had said during a press conference last Friday that the report was believed to have been made by someone from Vietnam, although FAM had no evidence of the person’s identity.
However, Tunku Ismail said he was informed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that a complaint from Vietnam was lodged after Malaysia’s 4-0 win over the team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 11.
“I was informed by AFC after I asked because, apparently, there was a complaint following our win against Vietnam. But I wasn’t told who made it.
“When I asked AFC, they confirmed that it did not come from the Vietnam FA.
“It was someone from Vietnam, but not from the federation. So we don’t know who it was. It wasn’t the secretary-general, the president, or anyone from there. That’s what AFC told me,” said Tunku Ismail.
