28/12/2025

theSun on Sunday DEC 28, 2025

SPORTS 15

Beautiful game sullied Local football rocked by document forgery

303/25

27/12/2025

2642 3075 4510

8127 1187 3191 7100 9078

0445 5037 2825 4327 0887

4796 0567 1517 4319 1867

7082 8611 0594 7663 2370

National players celebrate a goal during the Asian Cup Qualifiers against Nepal at Stadium Sultan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru on Mar 25. – AFPPIC

RM18,103,980.54

THE 2025 season will be remembered as the most challenging moment in the history of national football when the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven national heritage players were fined by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) over document forgery offences. The climax occurred on the eve ning of Sept 26 when Fifa, in an offi cial statement, confirmed that FAM and seven players – Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel – were found to have violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC). The investigation found that FAM had submitted documents believed to be falsified to confirm the eligibility of all these players, enabling them to secure a 4-0 victory against Vietnam in the Group F match of the 2027 Asia Cup Qualification round here last June. Consequently, FAM was ordered to pay a fine of CHF350,000 (RM1.8 mil lion), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (RM11,000), and all seven players were suspended from all foot ball-related activities for 12 months. Hopes of seeing the penalty reduced were dashed when the Fifa Appeals Committee rejected the appeal filed by FAM and all seven players on Nov 3, thus upholding the decision of the Disciplinary Committee regarding the serious vio lation of Article 22 FDC. However, on Nov 18, FAM announced that it would begin the process of taking the documentation case of the seven national heritage players to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to uphold justice and defend the integrity of the player qualification process set by the gov

ing climbed to 116th, its best position in 20 years. Meanwhile, questions regarding the capability and progress of the national U-23 squad under the man agement of Mohd Nafuzi Zain con tinue to circulate after the national team failed to achieve any proud suc cesses. Mohd Nafuzi’s charges were elimi nated in the group stage of the Asean U-23 Championship in Indonesia in July before failing to qualify for the 2026 U-23 Asia Cup finals after being defeated in the Group F qualifying round in Thailand in September. Meanwhile, on the domestic stage, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) started the 2025/26 Malaysia League campaign in style by defending the Charity Shield for the eighth consecutive time after defeating Selangor FC 3-0 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri in Johor in August. The Southern Tigers squad is the favorite to emerge as the Super League champions this season, thus clinching their 12th consecutive championship after far surpassing other rivals at the top of the league currently, besides also being on track to pursue the FA Cup title. In conclusion, the year 2025 left a profound impact on the national foot ball landscape after FAM was embroiled in the document forgery issue. Although FAM is trying to take the case to CAS, the demand for reform and internal renewal continues to resonate among sports analysts and fans. However, despite the administra tive turmoil, the performance of the Harimau Malaya squad at least injects confidence that national football still has a positive direction, even though off-field challenges still need to be addressed. – Bernama

ernment and related bodies. The implications of this dark epi sode elicited various reactions from stakeholders in the national football ecosystem. Several analysts and former play ers opined that the high-profile case was not just a blow to administrative integrity, with some describing it as even worse than the 1994 corruption scandal, one of the worst crises ever to hit local football. The majority of fans demanded a comprehensive reform within FAM, calling for new leadership, greater transparency, and stricter account ability, in addition to drastic meas ures to restore the reputation of the governing body. However, some fans defended FAM and questioned Fifa’s actions. However, despite the bleak epi sode, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The off-field issues did not affect the momentum of the Harimau Malaya squad, which closed the year’s matches with an undefeated record. The team coached by Peter Cklamovski recorded seven wins and one draw in international friendly matches and the 2027 Asia Cup Qualification round, respectively. This excellent momentum has allowed Malaysia to now lead the Group F standings in the 2027 Asia Cup Qualification after maintaining a 100% winning record in five matches, with one remaining match against Vietnam next March. The national squad opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Nepal in March before securing a sur prise 4-0 defeat of Vietnam. The momentum continued with double victories of 3-0 and 5-1 over Laos last month, before once again defeating Nepal 1-0 in this month’s match. Malaysia also showed positive form when the country’s world rank

2642 + 3075 3075 + 2642 4510 + 2642

2642 + 4510 3075 + 4510 4510 + 3075

RM676,749.60

1 5 8 1323273036

11 31

RM11,195,922.74

RM173,101.56

4 2 7 5 1 0 42751

27510

4275

7510

427

510

42

10

75

06

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