FIFA dismisses Malaysia appeals in forgery scandal

FIFA on Monday announced it had dismissed the appeals lodged by Malaysia's football federation (FAM) and its seven players in the on-going eligibility scandal linked to forged documents used for an Asia Cup qualifier.

The world governing body suspended seven foreign-born Malaysia national team players for a year and fined the FAM $440,000 in September.

FIFA accused the country's federation of submitting doctored or false documents that said the players had Malaysian ancestry, making them eligible to represent the Southeast Asian nation.

An investigation by the body showed that none of Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca or Joao Brandao Figueiredo -- who helped Malaysia to a 4-0 win over Vietnam in June in an Asian Cup qualifier -- had a parent or grandparent born in the country.

FAM denied any deliberate wrongdoing and appealed the decision in October, before suspending its secretary-general and saying it would establish an independent committee to investigate.

But on Monday, FIFA's appeal committee said "after analysing the submissions and conducting a hearing", it had "decided to dismiss the appeals" and "to confirm" sanctions against the parties.

The FAM will have to pay its $440,000 fine, while the players will be fined $2,500 each and banned from any football-related activity for 12 months.

FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi said the Malaysia football body would contact FIFA for further details, before submitting "an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport".

"This is the first time FAM has faced such a situation, and our legal team and management are very surprised by the decision," Yusoff added.

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