Malaysian football faces another FIFA case over player eligibility

By Hoang Nguyen November 6, 2025 | 04:32 pm PT

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is facing a second, separate FIFA case regarding the eligibility of its seven suspended naturalized players, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed.

This new case is in addition to FAM's recently failed appeal against sanctions for document falsification of the seven naturalized players.

AFC secretary general Windsor Paul John clarified the complex situation, noting that the two cases are distinct and being handled by different FIFA bodies.

"We must understand that FAM is actually facing two cases - one involving FIFA over document falsification, and another currently being heard at the FIFA Tribunal," Windsor said, as quoted by New Straits Times.

Malaysia naturalized forward Joao Figueiredo celebrates after scoring against Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers on June 10, 2025. Photo by MalaysiaNT

Windsor explained that this second case is now handled by the FIFA Tribunal's Players' Status and Eligibility Committee. This panel is conducting its own investigation to determine if the players ever met the actual criteria to represent Malaysia, an issue separate from the falsified documents used to register them.

FAM will face three possible outcomes from this tribunal: the existing sanctions could be upheld, reduced or increased. The decision will depend on the credibility of the documents submitted and whether the panel is convinced there was "no intent to deceive" in the players' registration.

"The case before the FIFA Tribunal relates to 'eligibility to represent Malaysia'. Once a decision is made, including any case that may be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), then perhaps AFC can look into what actions it can take," Windsor added.

He emphasized that the process is expected to take time as each stage requires detailed scrutiny, especially if FAM wants to take this separate case to CAS later on.

"So there are still many processes that FAM and the seven players must go through, and the appeal decision is not the end of it," he said.

Earlier this week, FAM's hopes of overturning the initial sanctions were dismissed by the FIFA Appeal Committee. The ruling upheld a 350,000 Swiss franc (US$432,000) fine for FAM and a one-year ban from all football activities for the seven players.