Malaysia firmly refuses to use government funds to pay the FIFA fine

The Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports will not use government-allocated funds to pay the FIFA fine regarding the case of 7 naturalized players.

Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh clarified that the 15 million RM allocation (nearly 1 billion VND) from the government is exclusively for the national football team's 2027 Asian Cup qualifying campaign and is not intended for any other purposes, including paying fines.

This allocation, announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in last year’s national budget, was granted to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to support the national team’s preparations.

FAM’s financial situation has been closely monitored after FIFA fined the association 350,000 CHF (about 1.9 million RM) for violating Article 22 of FIFA's Disciplinary Code related to forgery and fraud concerning the documents of 7 naturalized players. FAM’s appeal to FIFA was rejected, and the association now plans to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

National team advisor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has pledged to personally cover the costs of appealing to CAS. After this payment, public attention shifted to how the Malaysian Football Association would pay the FIFA fine, with many urging not to misuse government funds.

"The 15 million RM allocation is solely for the national team’s Asian Cup campaign. This is a very specific allocation for that purpose," Minister of Youth and Sports Hannah Yeoh stated at a press conference in Putrajaya.

"The fund is monitored. It was granted to the Football Association of Malaysia, and expenditure reports are submitted to the National Sports Council (NSC). The fund is also overseen by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Finance,"she added.

Yeoh reiterated that the CAS appeal costs are not from this allocation. "I believe the appeal costs will be borne by the Regent of Johor (Tunku Ismail). The appeal expenses to FIFA are not covered by this fund."

Earlier, the Regent of Johor, Ismail, declared he would pay all expenses to help FAM appeal to CAS. “I will cover everything; I will not use public money,”, stated Tunku Mahkota Ismail. According to multiple sources, pursuing the appeal atCAS is expected to cost nearly 8 billion VND.

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