FAM fined 350,000 CHF by FIFA for inconsistent testimony

“My grandfather was born in Venezuela and my grandmother in Spain… er, I mean Malaysia, sorry.” The words of a Malaysian “heritage” player during his hearing became the turning point in a 63-page report released by the appeals body of the world football governing body (FIFA), which raised suspicions of falsified nationality records.

According to the documents, the player was unable to produce a copy of the documents that were given to his agent – ​​documents that were supposed to prove his grandmother’s Malaysian origin. FIFA compared three different birth certificates: one submitted by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), one issued by the Malaysian government and one independently collected by FIFA, and discovered many irregularities in the data.

The FIFA Appeal Committee stressed that this testimony was particularly significant because the speaker was the last person interviewed and the only one to change his answer during the hearing. The report stated: “The discrepancy regarding the grandmother’s place of birth suggests that there was a possibility of falsification of documents to legitimize the right to play for the Malaysian national team.”

Key details in the 63-page report

The self-contradictory answer about the grandparents’ birthplace was not just a linguistic slip. In investigative logic, it was a “stress test” to check the consistency of the record. When testimony changed direction in the hearing room, the accompanying chain of evidence – especially the birth certificate and civil status documents – was immediately subjected to a more rigorous scrutiny.

The comparison of three birth certificate sources (FAM submitted, government issued, FIFA collected) gave “unusual” results, helping to strengthen FIFA’s suspicions about the possibility of documents being edited to meet international competition eligibility criteria.

The penalty remains unchanged, FAM appeals to CAS

Previously, on November 3, FIFA rejected all appeals by FAM and the seven players involved, upholding the issued penalties. Accordingly, FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about 11.5 billion VND). The seven players includeFacundo Garcés, Imanol Machuca, Hector Hevel, Gabriel Palmero, Rodrigo Holgado, Joao FigueiredoandJon Irazabalwere banned from competition for 12 months and fined 2,000 Swiss francs each. FAM confirmed that they will appeal to CAS.

Why a “misstatement” becomes powerful evidence

In international eligibility cases, continuity and consistency of personal data (place of birth, nationality of grandparents/parents, length of residence) is fundamental. A contradictory statement does not automatically lead to a conclusion of fraud, but it does trigger FIFA’s in-depth verification mechanism, especially when accompanied by the failure to produce copies of important documents and discrepancies between birth certificates from multiple sources.

In the Malaysia case, the FIFA Appeal Committee considered the change of answer during the hearing to be a sign of high risk. As the risk increases, the standard of document assessment also increases, leading to the dissection of every administrative detail – from the document number to the line stating the grandmother’s place of birth – to determine the possibility of improper legalization.

Impact on FAM and the Malaysian team

The incident continues to shake Malaysian football, raising questions about the nationality verification process for the group of “heritage” players. FAM’s reputation is affected in the eyes of FIFA, and the team’s personnel plan is directly affected by the 12-month suspension of the seven players mentioned above.

At the governance level, the incident forced the federation to strengthen its compliance system: collecting – storing – verifying original documents, cross-checking with state agencies and building a response process when data conflicts arise. These are the foundation steps to restore trust in FIFA’s legal framework.

Quick statistics of fines

Highlights

• The 63-page report found that conflicting testimony about the grandmother's birthplace was a turning point in the investigation.
• Comparing three birth certificates from different sources turned up anomalies.
• FIFA upholds the penalty: FAM 350,000 CHF; seven players banned from playing for 12 months and fined 2,000 CHF each.
• FAM confirmed the appeal to CAS.