KUALA LUMPUR: World football governing body FIFA will launch a formal investigation into the internal operations of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), in a bid to identify those responsible for the falsification of documents that enabled seven foreign-born players to play for the national team.
The FAM’s failure to identify those responsible for the tampering of documents was “deeply troubling” and “raises serious concerns about the governance culture within the organisation”, FIFA’s appeal committee said in its written decision released on Tuesday (Nov 18).
“The FAM has not taken any discernible disciplinary action — no concrete suspensions, no dismissals, no referrals to domestic authorities,” it wrote.
“The continued shielding of confessed culpable staff members, coupled with vague assertions of administrative error, appears to be a tactical manoeuvre designed to deflect institutional responsibility while preserving internal cohesion.”
FIFA had on Nov 3 dismissed FAM’s appeal against sanctions imposed in September on the association and the seven players. It had fined the FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.85 million or US$438,960), and fined the players 2,000 Swiss francs each and suspended them from all football-related activities for a year.
FAM, which had requested for FIFA to release the full details of the appeal decision, will now take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), said FAM acting president Mohd Yusoff Mahadi on Tuesday.
The CAS is an independent body based in Lausanne, Switzerland that helps to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation.
In its 63-page decision, FIFA’s Appeal Committee said it has directed its secretariat to take immediate steps to launch the formal probe, which will also assess the adequacy and effectiveness of FAM’s internal compliance and governance mechanisms, and determine whether additional disciplinary measures are warranted against FAM officials.
“As an initial focus, the investigation must examine the role of the FAM secretary-general and that of two licensed FIFA agents named in these proceedings: Mr Nicolas Puppo and Mr Frederico Moraes,” wrote the FIFA appeal committee.
“Their involvement raises serious concerns that merit thorough scrutiny.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-fifa-fam-football-naturalised-players-investigation-forgery-5474656
