SHOCKING: Malaysia continues to be under FIFA investigation for another issue

The New Straits Times confirms that the Football Association of Malaysia remains involved in a separate FIFA investigation.

The Football Association of Malaysia still faces another lawsuit from FIFA after the global body rejected FAM’s appeal against sanctions imposed on the national football association.

Datuk Seri Windsor Paul John, Secretary General of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), stated that the Football Association of Malaysia is involved in two separate procedures at FIFA, both of which must be resolved before any further actions can be taken.

“We must understand that FAM is actually facing two lawsuits — one related to FIFA regarding document forgery and the other currently being handled by the FIFA Court,” he said.

He explained that the case forwarded to the FIFA Court focuses more on the eligibility of naturalized players to represent Malaysia, and the council is conducting deeper investigations.

“The case before the FIFA Court concerns ‘eligibility to represent Malaysia.’ Once a decision is made, including any cases that may be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the AFC can then consider possible actions,” he added.

To clarify, the FIFA Court acts as an internal “court” within the football governing body, handling cases related to football regulations and conduct. This court consists of three main chambers — the Disciplinary Committee, the Appeal Committee, and the Players’ Status and Eligibility Committee.

In FAM’s case, the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Players’ Status and Eligibility Committee, which will review the registration documents of seven players and assess whether they meet the criteria to represent Malaysia.

It is understood that the Football Association of Malaysia faces three possible outcomes — current sanctions could be upheld, reduced, or increased — depending on the credibility of the submitted documents and whether the court believes there was no intent to commit fraud in the players’ registrations.

Windsor said the process is expected to take time because each stage requires careful review, especially if FAM decides to escalate the matter to CAS later. “Therefore, FAM and the seven players still have many procedures to go through, and the appeal decision is not the end,”he said.