Dap Mp Demands Fam Reveal Technical Errors As Taxpayers To Foot Fines

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DAP national legal bureau chairperson Ramkarpal Singh urged the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to reveal the technical error which led to fines by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa).
He said this is because the national football team is funded by taxpayers, and that public money will be used to pay Fifa’s fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million) on FAM and 2,000 Swiss francs on each “heritage” player.
“Whether or not a mere ‘technical error’ can result in such a serious finding of document falsification by Fifa or whether there was an overt act of falsification by parties connected to FAM are matters which would, undoubtedly, be relevant for the appeal which FAM intends to pursue against Fifa’s decision.
“Public disclosure of such information is also crucial to determine if Fifa’s decision was unreasonable or disproportionate to the error committed by FAM,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP in a statement today.
Football Association of MalaysiaEarlier today, Bernama reported FAM secretary-general Noor Azman Rahman saying a technical error was identified in the document submission process of seven heritage players.
Last Friday (Sept 26), Fifa announced that it had imposed sanctions against the FAM and seven players for breaches of Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC) on forgery and falsification.
The players, Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano, were also hit with a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities, effective immediately.
Fifa said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility, enabling them to feature in the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.
3 suspended players from JDT
Separately, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) confirmed that three of the suspended players are from Johor Darul Ta'zim FC.
In a statement today, the MFL said they are Figueiredo, Irazabal, and Hevel.
The trio cannot play in any MFL competition during the period of the suspension, it said.
JDT football players“Follow-up action on this case will only be taken by the MFL when the decision on FAM’s appeal is announced by Fifa later,” it added.
In response to Fifa, FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi said his organisation will appeal against the decision.
The seven joined the Malaysian football team on the basis of being “heritage players” - footballers who have some familial link to Malaysia.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the footballers had received their citizenship after a thorough vetting process, and that all citizenship laws had been followed.
Critics have questioned why footballers could get citizenship while the process seemed difficult for stateless Malaysians who were born in the country to at least one Malaysian parent. - Mkini

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