Malaysia’s football federation has lodged an appeal against FIFA’s decision to suspend seven national team players over an eligibility scandal, local media reported on Wednesday.
Last month, FIFA handed the players one-year bans and fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) $440,000, alleging that false or doctored documents were submitted to claim the players had Malaysian ancestry, making them eligible to represent the country.
FAM has denied any deliberate wrongdoing, insisting it acted in good faith and attributed the controversy to a “technical error.”
FIFA’s investigation found that none of the seven foreign-born players — who were instrumental in Malaysia’s 4-0 win over Vietnam in June during an Asian Cup qualifier — had a parent or grandparent born in Malaysia, thereby breaching eligibility rules.
“This appeal process is like a second round for us,” FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi told the Bernama news agency on Tuesday. “We are making better, more thorough and detailed preparations. It was not done hastily or under pressure.”
Yusoff made the comments during Malaysia’s 5-1 victory over Laos, also in Asian Cup qualifying.
The scandal has cast a shadow over Malaysia’s recent resurgence in international football, with the FAM now looking to clear its name through the appeals process.
