Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will learn the outcome of its appeal against the fines and suspensions imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on seven Harimau Malaya heritage players on October 30, according to international sports lawyer Serge Vittoz, who is representing FAM in the case.
“The original decision was issued on September 26, and within the prescribed timeframe, we officially submitted the appeal on October 14,” said Vittoz at a special press conference held at Wisma FAM today.
“Today, we were informed that the official verdict will be released on October 30 by the FIFA Appeals Committee. Most likely, the decision will be communicated to all involved parties on the same day or within a few days thereafter,” he explained.
Vittoz, from Charles Russell Speechlys, a Geneva and London-based law firm, confirmed that FAM still has the option to escalate the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) should the appeal outcome not be in their favor.
“After the Appeals Committee’s ruling, if FAM or the affected players are dissatisfied with the decision, they can still appeal to CAS, although that process would take a longer time to conclude,” he added.
The main objective of the appeal, according to Vittoz, is to protect the players and prove that FAM was not involved in any document falsification related to the eligibility of the naturalised players.
“FAM’s primary objective in this appeal is to protect the players and ensure that FIFA understands they were not directly involved in this issue,” Vittoz emphasized.
“Secondly, we want FIFA to recognize that as an institution, FAM had no role in any falsification of documents which formed the basis of the disciplinary action.”
Last month, FAM and seven naturalised players — Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel — were sanctioned by FIFA after being found guilty of violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.
As a result, FAM was fined CHF350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (around RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date the decision notice was issued on October 6.
If FIFA’s Appeals Committee upholds the punishment, FAM may proceed with its final appeal to CAS, which could further determine Malaysia’s standing in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and the future of the affected players.
Credit Photo : BERNAMA
