Johor Regent Fifa S Decision Politically Motivated

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Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has described the International Federation of Association Football’s (Fifa) rejection of the appeal filed by Malaysia over the “heritage” players issue as “politically motivated” and a “misapplication of the law.”
He also said that he would continue to support the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) case in its forthcoming hearing at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“Fifa continues to punish the players by misapplying the law, whereby Article 22 of the Fifa code states it can only sanction those who falsify or use a falsified document, and none of that applies to the players.
“In other words, the sanction is imposed without being based on the law and appears to be ‘politically motivated’ rather than anything else,” Tunku Ismail said on X.
“Some choose to point fingers, some choose to make noise, while I choose to stand and support the fight for the players at all costs till the end, which will now be at the CAS - an independent body,” he added.
Yesterday, Fifa announced it had rejected FAM’s appeal against the sanctions imposed on seven “heritage” players who had been granted Malaysian citizenship, allegedly based on forgery and falsification of identification documents.
“After analysing the submissions and conducting a hearing, the (Fifa) appeal committee decided to dismiss the appeals, and to confirm in its entirety the following sanctions imposed upon FAM and the seven players,” it said.
The organisation also added that FAM and the players have 10 days from the announcement to request the grounds of the decision, and 21 days for a possible appeal before CAS.
New arbitration
In response, FAM announced that it would take the necessary measures to bring its case to the independent international arbitration body.
The association had also previously appointed former chief justice Raus Sharif to lead an independent committee to investigate the issue, which reportedly held its first meeting yesterday and plans to report its findings back to FAM in six weeks.
Raus Sharif“This is the first time FAM is facing such a situation, and our lawyers and management are shocked by the decision.
“Nevertheless, FAM will steadfastly continue to champion the rights of players and Malaysia’s interests in football at the international level,” said FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi yesterday.
ADSFine and sanctions
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.
The players were also slapped with a 12-month suspension.
According to Fifa, the seven “heritage” players don’t have any grandparents born in Malaysia as claimed.
However, FAM rejected allegations of doctoring documents. It also argued that Fifa had not provided evidence to substantiate its allegations of forgery.
The issue has stoked controversy over perceived double standards in how citizenship has been granted to the players, compared to stateless persons who were born and bred in Malaysia. - Mkini

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