Fifa has lodged criminal complaints in five countries and opened its own formal investigation into the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), after dismissing its appeal over the use of forged documents by seven foreign-born footballers representing the Southeast Asian nation.
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In a withering 63-page explanation of its decision, football’s governing body upheld all fines and bans imposed in September against FAM – and the seven players – describing the falsified records allowing the “heritage players” to play for Malaysia as an attack on the sport.
The fraudulent ancestry documents had direct competitive impact, Fifa said, with two of the ineligible players scoring in Malaysia’s 4-0 win over Vietnam on June 10, resulting in “undue sporting gain”.
The Appeal Committee said attempts by FAM to deceive the governing body “strike at the very foundation of football’s integrity” and could not be tolerated “under any circumstances”.
Fifa said investigators had found that falsified birth certificates were submitted to claim the players had Malaysian grandparents born in Penang, Johor, Malacca or Sarawak.
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