Malaysia Football Association faces risk of harsher penalties, lawyer advises continuing naturalization

In an interview with Timesport, sports lawyer Nik Erman Nik Roseli shared his views on the naturalization of 7 Malaysian players amid the upcoming final ruling by CAS.

Risk of penalties being upheld or increased

According to sports lawyer Nik Erman Nik Roseli, CAS will review all arguments presented by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) during the hearing. He stated that the outcome of the appeal remains uncertain: “If the appeal concerns only the penalty, there is a chance the sanction could be reduced, maintained, or increased. This will depend on the reasons presented by the lawyers.”

The lawyer also emphasized that the players are not entirely blameless: “The players showed disregard for what happened with their documents and were found to have given conflicting statements during their appeals to FIFA.”

According to him, this factor may lead CAS to consider maintaining or even increasing the disciplinary measures.

Suspension order is not a positive sign

In January, CAS allowed a suspension of the penalty so the players could continue competing while awaiting the final verdict. However, Nik Erman stressed this should not be misunderstood. “A suspension does not guarantee a win. It only preserves the status quo until the case is finally decided.”

He explained that this is merely a procedural step when there are sufficient grounds for argument, and does not reflect CAS’s substantive judgment on the case.

A "turning point" from admitting document alteration

According to lawyer Nik Erman, the situation worsened when FAM admitted to having altered documents submitted to FIFA during the hearings.

“This case failed when FAM acknowledged modifying documents during FIFA hearings. The uncertainty about what truly occurred indicates something more serious than a simple mistake.”

He believes Malaysian football must clarify specific responsibilities, from those who edited the documents to the internal control processes: “If we don’t identify the error, we might end up repeating the same mistakes.”

Naturalization should continue, but governance must be tightened

Nonetheless, the lawyer insists this scandal should not cause Malaysia to halt its player naturalization program. “The lesson is not to stop naturalization. If done properly, systematically, and only with players who genuinely elevate the national team, then it should continue.”

He stated the core issue is to enhance transparency and oversight to prevent repeating mistakes that could seriously damage Malaysian football’s reputation in the future.