On October 17, at a special press conference at Wisma FAM headquarters, Harimau Malaya Executive Director Rob Friend affirmed the need for transparency in the role of the national team in the case of FIFA's sanction against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) regarding the naturalization records of seven players.
Mr. Friend said that most of the opinions on social networks and the media have " gone too far", creating misconceptions about the role of the team and Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim. "The team is only in charge of expertise and operations, not related to administrative issues or legal documents," he emphasized.
According to him, Harimau Malaya's task is only to identify players in the potential group. Only when the procedures are approved by FIFA and registration is completed will they be eligible to wear the national team jersey.
Mr. Friend revealed that after FIFA sent the incident to FAM on August 22, he quickly took action to protect the rights of the players and the reputation of the national team. FAM has invited an international legal team, including lawyer Serge Vittoz of Charles Russell Speechlys, to ensure that the appeal process is carried out in accordance with regulations.
Lawyer Vittoz said the FIFA Appellate Committee will announce the verdict on October 30. In case of disagreement, the players can continue to file a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Vittoz stressed that FAM's main goal is to protect players' rights and prove that the federation is not involved in the accusation of forging documents leading to a penalty from FIFA.
