Ex Judge Fifa Sanctions On Fam Players A Jurisdictional Error

---

 


A former Court of Appeal judge has slammed the International Federation of Association Football’s (Fifa) sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven “heritage” players.
Citing Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code under which the sanctions were imposed, Hamid Sultan Abu Backer argued that Fifa’s decision constitutes a “jurisdictional error” that encroaches on the authority of Malaysian courts.
The provision utilised by Fifa, he contended, only applies to cases involving forgery or falsification of documents - not to situations where a document was officially issued by a government authority.
“In my view, Article 22 will not apply to a valid or, arguably, wrongfully issued document by the government of Malaysia or its agencies,” Hamid told Malaysiakini.
“An arbitrator or committee may reject birth certificates, but has no jurisdiction to say it was a forgery or fraudulently issued, when it was issued by the government.
“Thus, Article 22 cannot give jurisdiction to Fifa to determine that authentic government documents - even though they were irregular - were forged,” he added.
Hamid emphasised that citizenship granted to the seven disputed Harimau Malaya players remains a matter that should be referred to the Malaysian courts as a “sole authority”.
Fifa, he asserted, cannot act “against the record of a sovereign government” without going through a public and open process in the courts here or the players’ nation of origin.
Fines, suspensions, rejection
In September, Fifa imposed a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million) on FAM, while seven 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 each fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,300)
The players were also slapped with a 12-month suspension.
On Nov 3, Fifa’s appeals committee announced its rejection of FAM’s appeal against the imposed sanctions.
The global football body also stated that FAM and the players have 10 days from the date of the announcement to request the written grounds of the decision, and 21 days to file a possible appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The sanctions were understood to have been imposed based on Fifa’s “strict liability” principle, which holds associations responsible for violations committed by their players - even if the association was not directly responsible.
In its findings released on Oct 6, Fifa disciplinary committee deputy chairperson, Jorge Palacio, said the committee was “comfortably satisfied” that the birth certificates submitted by FAM in several eligibility proceedings had been forged and/or falsified, to alter the players’ grandparents’ birthplaces.
Palacio noted that Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code empowers the committee to sanction both the perpetrators of forged or falsified documents and the association to which they belong.
The provision, he said, has been designed to prevent the use of defences based on ignorance or procedural compliance, and it carries severe sanctions, as forgery is considered a criminal offence in most jurisdictions.
Royal support
Also referencing Article 22, Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim earlier described Fifa’s rejection of FAM’s appeal as “politically motivated” and a “misapplication of the law”, stressing that he would continue to “support the players at all costs”.
The owner of Johor Darul Ta’zim FC has since offered to cover all expenses related to FAM’s bid to bring its case to the CAS, reportedly adding that he is not afraid of Fifa potentially “taking action” against him.
FAM has since formed an independent committee, led by former chief justice Raus Shariff, to investigate issues involving the seven players over allegations of falsifying documents linked to their Malaysian ancestry. - Mkini

---