Recently, Mr. Yusoff Mahadi - Acting President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said that the changes or reform proposals submitted by the independent Investigation Commission (IIC) could not be implemented.
Only when violations related to 7 naturalized Malaysian players are completely resolved will other issues be handled. Currently, FAM is waiting for the results in court for the CAS.
"FAM has sent all documents related to CAS. And now, we are waiting for the day to seal the hearing, said Yusoff Mahadi.
However, Malaysian media said it has not yet received a response from CAS about whether FAM has submitted all relevant documents.
If CAS has received enough documents, it will take 1-3 weeks for the Council to be established. The hearing will be held 1-3 months after having sufficient documents. At least a month later, Cas will have a final verdict. Thus, the total time to handle the case in order usually falls around 5-6 months.
Therefore, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has asked CAS, FIFA and FAM to handle the case urgently. The above ruling affects the results of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers - which will end on March 31, 2026. If Malaysia is sanctioned and loses 0-3 to matches using unqualified naturalized players, the rankings of Group F will change.
To date, FAM has received 2 sanctions from FIFA, including losing 3 matches of Malaysia in international friendlies. Therefore, the Malaysian team has dropped to 121st in the world. The AFC also fined the agency for violating the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
FAM confirmed that in the next few days, it will report to Malaysian police to launch a comprehensive investigation into the origin of the suspected counterfeit documents. From there, the competent authority will determine the responsible people in the case of 7 naturalized players.
FAM General Secretary Noor Azman Rahman is being suspended from his position and is under investigation.
