The scandal began at the end of September, when FIFA determined that FAM had forged documents to naturalize 7 players including Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holcado, Imanol Secret Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano. They were included in the list of players for the victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10.
FIFA then imposed heavy fines, including 350,000 Swiss francs (equivalent to about 1.8 million Malaysian ringgit) for FAM, and 7 players were each fined 2,000 Swiss francs and banned from all football activities for 12 months.
On October 15, FAM officially appealed to the FIFA Appeal Committee after receiving a detailed record. To serve the investigation, FAM suspended General Secretary Khanhman Rahman and established an independent investigation committee headed by a former chief judge.
Some positive information was given at the last minute, such as the Tunku Khanh Ismail Sultan Ibrahim expressing hope that FIFA would reduce the sentence, or lawyer Serge Vittoz discovering a loophole in the penalty notice.
However, according to the Malaysian press, the possibility of FAM turning the situation around is almost zero. If FIFA continues to keep the penalty, FAM can take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 30 days.
At that time, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will have a basis to consider the penalty for the Malaysian team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
