The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has been advised to lodge a police report over the submission of falsified documents involving seven heritage players, as part of efforts to uncover those responsible for the forgery.
The recommendation was made by FAM’s Independent Investigation Committee (IIC) in a report spanning nearly 60 pages, chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif.
According to the committee, the incident stemmed from systemic weaknesses in FAM’s governance framework, including inadequate document verification procedures, insufficient supervision of player agents and weak internal controls.
“The committee found that accountability remains with FAM irrespective of whether external parties were involved in the preparation of the documents,” the report said.
It added that FAM should immediately file a police report, initiate internal disciplinary measures where supervisory failures occurred and implement structural reforms to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The investigation revealed that FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman acknowledged that applications relating to the seven players were submitted to FIFA by FAM’s administrative personnel.
He had also instructed the association’s legal manager to upload the documents into FIFA’s system without independently verifying their authenticity, a decision described by the committee as a serious lapse in oversight.
However, the committee concluded that the legal manager acted solely on instructions and played no role in preparing, altering or validating the documents.
The seven players told the committee that all administrative matters were handled by FAM and their respective agents, and maintained that they were unaware that forged documents had been submitted to FIFA.
They said original documents reflecting their grandparents’ actual birthplaces were handed to their agents, but the agents identified during the investigation could not be traced and did not provide any statements.
Officials from the national team, including Harimau Malaya chief executive officer Rob Friend, denied any involvement in the documentation process, stating that the matter was handled by the players’ agents.
The IIC also recommended internal disciplinary proceedings against the secretary-general, while calling for comprehensive reforms such as stricter audit mechanisms and the mandatory registration and accreditation of football agents.
On Nov 3, FIFA’s Appeal Committee upheld an earlier ruling that FAM and the players had relied on falsified birth certificates to support claims of Malaysian ancestry for national team eligibility.
FIFA had imposed a fine of CHF350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million) on FAM, while each of the seven players was suspended for 12 months and fined CHF2,000.
FAM has since indicated that it will pursue an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and a special meeting of the FAM Executive Committee is expected to be convened to deliberate on the findings of the independent investigation.
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
