PETALING JAYA: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) are now prepared for any decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the dispute over the documentation of seven mixed-heritage players.
FAM acting president Datuk Yusoff Mahadi explained that their dealings are no longer with FIFA, but with CAS.
With just about three days remaining, FAM are preparing their full written submission and is confident that all requirements set by CAS will be met ahead of the Dec 18 deadline.
“I believe our matters with FIFA are now complete and there is nothing more to address at that level. CAS are our final platform to present our case,” said Yusoff.
“The decision rests with CAS as an independent body. They are not bound by FIFA, and any ruling must be respected by both us and FIFA. We are simply completing the process in accordance with legal and regulatory procedures; the question of who wins or loses will be determined by CAS,” said Yusoff.
At the same time, Yusoff also revealed that the full findings of the Independent Committee, led by former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif, are expected to be released this week.
“We are still waiting for the report from Tun Raus. I expect that we will receive it within this month. Once we have the report, we will review the findings of Tun Raus’ committee before deciding on the next steps,” he added.
In October, FAM set up the independent committee to investigate documentation issues involving the seven mixed-heritage players after FIFA imposed heavy sanctions on FAM after finding breaches of Article 22 of the FIFA disciplinary code relating to the falsification and alteration of official documents.
FAM were fined 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8mil), while the seven players involved — Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel— were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,000) and suspended from all football activities for 12 months.
