PETALING JAYA: A sports lawyer has called for the revocation of citizenship of four footballers sanctioned by FIFA for using falsified documents, arguing that their status cannot be resolved purely under sports regulations but must also be examined under constitutional law.
Sports lawyer Nik Erman Nik Roseli said the issue resurfaced after the Malaysian Football League (MFL) confirmed that four players would be eligible to register as local players once their playing bans end.
The league said their position was based on Article 3.3 of the Malaysian Football League manual 2025–2026, which allows a player to register using a national registration identity card, which the players concerned reportedly possess.
However, Erman pointed out that three separate independent panels had already found that the players’ birth certificates were falsified.
“As of today, the players concerned are still legally Malaysians, despite these findings,” he said.
He stressed that international federations such as FIFA cannot interfere with the sovereign power of a country to grant citizenship, although they can impose eligibility criteria for football competitions.
Erman also drew attention to Article 4.5.9 of the league manual, which states that naturalised players must comply with the FIFA regulations on the status and transfer of players (RSTP).
He noted that the RSTP primarily governs administrative matters such as player registration, registration periods and transfers.
However, the same provision also requires naturalised players to obtain approval from the MFL board of directors and to consider FIFA’s eligibility rules.
Under the FIFA regulations governing the application of the statutes (RGAS), particularly Articles 6 to 8, a player acquiring a new nationality for football purposes must either be born in the country, have a parent or grandparent born there, or have lived in the country for at least five years.
“The players cannot be considered Malaysian players until they satisfy the requirements under Articles 6 to 8 of the RGAS,” said Erman.
He added that the matter should also be examined through constitutional law. Erman referred to a witness statement dated Sept 19, 2025, by the director-general of the National Registration Department of Malaysia (NRD), which stated that the department was unable to retrieve the original birth certificates of the players concerned.
The issue was also highlighted in the FIFA disciplinary committee’s decision, which noted that the NRD relied on secondary evidence.
According to the statement, the naturalisation process considered factors such as the birth certificate, residency period, sufficient knowledge of the Malay language and good conduct, in line with Article 19 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.
Erman argued that if the basis of the naturalisation process was flawed, including the absence of original birth certificates, lack of residency in Malaysia, insufficient knowledge of Malay and questions over good conduct after being sanctioned for document falsification, then the proper course of action would be to revoke their nationality.
