Lawyer Fam Flogging Dead Horse With Wrong Document Defence

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Human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen has once again taken the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to task over its statement on the seven heritage players representing Malaysia, describing it as an attempt to “flog a dead horse.”
FAM yesterday said that the documentation issues involving the players arose from an administrative mistake when its staff member accidentally uploaded documents from a player agent, instead of the official copies issued by the National Registration Department (NRD).
It said that the official appeal is being prepared using original and authentic documents verified by the Malaysian government.
“From the statement, it is obvious that FAM is unable to answer the crux of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee’s findings, that they were able to retrieve copies of the original birth certificates in question from Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain and compared them with the birth certificates submitted by FAM.
“The original birth certificates showed that the players’ grandfathers/grandmothers were born in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain and not in Malaysia as claimed by FAM.
“Unless FAM can challenge the authenticity of the birth certificates retrieved from the players’ home countries, FAM would not be in a position to insist otherwise,” the co-founder of Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) told Malaysiakini.
Sanctions
On Sept 26, the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) announced that it had imposed sanctions against FAM and the seven players for breaches of Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code on forgery and falsification.
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.
Fifa also determined that FAM must pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million), while each of the seven players was also slapped with a 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,500) fine.
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.
Fifa acquires original birth documents
In the grounds of its ruling to sanction FAM and the seven players, Fifa revealed it had acquired the original birth documents of the players’ “Malaysian-born” grandparents, which contradicted the allegedly doctored documents submitted by the Malaysian side.
It also casts doubt on the National Registration Department’s (NRD) verification of the players’ supposed Malaysian heritage.
FAM had, in response to Fifa’s probe, submitted a statement from NRD director-general Badrul Hisham Alias, saying that the department had conducted cross-verification to confirm the players’ lineage through their grandparents.
The Fifa Disciplinary Committee, however, noted that the NRD statement stated it never received the original birth certificates, and instead issued new birth certificates based on secondary information and foreign documents from Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.
In a statement responding to Fifa’s bombshell revelation, FAM reiterated its stance, denying that any documents had been doctored. It also argued that Fifa had not provided any evidence to substantiate its allegations of forgery.
FAM added that it was also bound by the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972 and the Passport Act, preventing it from publicly disclosing evidence in support of its position.
Inconsistent, questionable practices
Paulsen also criticised the NRD for what he viewed as inconsistent and questionable practices.
He drew parallels between the NRD’s handling of the players’ case and that of stateless citizenship applicants in Malaysia, noting that the latter were not afforded the same treatment despite having lived in the country for many years or having at least one Malaysian parent.
“You just have to look at the NRD DG’s letter in support of the birth certificates issued. It stated that NRD was unable to retrieve the original handwritten birth record from its historical archives.
“But somehow, NRD was sufficiently convinced to issue an official copy based on the evidence that a birth had occurred!
“This is shocking beyond belief as the NRD had never extended the same latitude to stateless applicants whose grandparents had long passed but do not possess the birth certificates required to support their application for citizenship,” he added.
FAM had previously brushed off the Fifa sanctions as a result of a “technical error”.
Harimau MalayaThe football association also said it would be filing a formal appeal against the Fifa ruling.
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had asserted that the citizenship process for the players adhered to the law.
“FAM is attempting to flog a dead horse. The appeal is bound to fail unless FAM can overturn this finding.
“No reasonable arbiter would accept FAM’s assertion that the birth certificates issued recently in Malaysia would be more credible than the original birth certificates issued many decades ago in their country of origin,” Paulsen added. - Mkini

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