BREAKING: The mastermind behind Malaysia’s citizenship scandal revealed

As reported by Malaysian media, the Independent Investigation Committee (IIC) named the key figure responsible for orchestrating the citizenship scandal that shook the country’s football scene.

The IIC, led by former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif, released a 59-page report highlighting serious breaches within the administrative system of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). These violations involved the use of allegedly forged documents for seven naturalized players.

According to Stadium Astro, the IIC concluded that FAM Secretary-General Datuk Noor Azman Rahman was the person who directly instructed staff to upload and submit files that were not proven to be forged to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Notably, the report revealed that Mr. Noor Azman allowed the completion of the documentation even though original handwritten birth certificates from the National Registration Department of Malaysia (JPN) could not be obtained.

The report emphasized that Mr. Noor Azman violated procedures by skipping crucial verification steps and failing to ensure the legitimacy of the documents. As head of the administrative apparatus, he is considered the person most accountable for allowing the files to pass internal controls before being forwarded to FIFA.

Besides individual responsibility, the IIC also pointed out significant gaps in FAM’s oversight system. Many documents lacked authentic verification, and proper validation and control measures were not fully implemented, allowing the violations to go unnoticed until FIFA intervened and issued conclusions.

Nevertheless, the IIC admitted it has not yet identified who directly forged the documents because the notary did not cooperate and player representatives could not be contacted. Therefore, the IIC urged FAM to immediately notify the police to conduct a transparent criminal investigation to uncover the “mastermind” truly behind the scandal.

The incident resulted in FAM being fined 350,000 Swiss francs, while the seven involved players were banned from playing for 12 months and fined an additional 2,000 francs each. The IIC also demanded FAM enforce internal disciplinary actions and reform the system to restore the reputation of Malaysian football.

As of December 12, 2025, following FIFA’s ruling, Malaysia was handed 0-3 defeats in all three international matches where ineligible naturalized players were fielded. Specifically, the team had seven players who did not meet eligibility criteria in matches against Cape Verde (May 29), Singapore (September 4), and Palestine (September 8), which previously ended in draws and wins.