KUALA LUMPUR: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has released the findings of its Independent Investigation Committee (IIC) probing the doctored documentation fiasco involving seven national players.
The report, disseminated to the media this evening, did not reveal those responsible for the episode, which has drawn international attention.
“The IIC concluded that it could not conclusively determine who falsified the impugned documents,” the report said.
This was due to the lack of cooperation from the certifying Notary Public and the inability to locate the seven players’ agents despite reasonable efforts.
The investigation highlighted serious failures in oversight, due diligence and administrative control within FAM, which allowed the incident to occur undetected.
The committee, chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Raus Sharif, advised FAM to lodge a police report, take internal disciplinary action where oversight failed, and implement structural reforms. Recommendations included registering and accrediting agents, enforcing strict procedures for notarised documents, and ensuring operational units remain under proper supervision, even with autonomy.
“These actions are essential to prevent recurrence and restore the credibility and integrity of FAM’s operations,” the report said.
The IIC also recommended that FAM’s Disciplinary Committee investigate suspended general secretary Datuk Noor Azman Rahman to determine whether he failed to exercise the expected level of oversight. The committee noted that this does not imply Noor Azman’s personal involvement in falsification.
Fifa’s Appeal Committee confirmed on Nov 3 that FAM must pay a CHF 350,000 fine for submitting doctored documentation for seven players in an Asian Qualifier against Vietnam in June. Malaysia won the match 4-0.
The seven players – Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano – remain banned from all football activities for 12 months and were each fined CHF 2,000. FAM has taken the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
FAM acting president Datuk Wira Yusoff Mahadi said the Executive Committee will meet on Dec 22 to discuss the report.
“FAM is committed to transparent, integrity-based governance and will fully cooperate with stakeholders to address this issue comprehensively, in line with the law,” he said.
Below are several excerpts from the report:
“The IIC’s investigation is constrained by its lack of statutory authority to access documents, compel the production of documents, the attendance of potential witnesses or interview individuals under legal caution. The IIC also does not possess the power nor the capacity to undertake forensic authentication of official records. IIC investigation is depended entirely on the materials that we asked and provided for by FAM and the voluntary cooperation of involved parties. This limits the IIC’s ability to fully establish the origin of the suspected forgeries or identify those responsible for the same.
“In the circumstances, the IIC concludes that the seven players are Malaysian citizens. However, citizenship alone does not automatically guarantee the seven players’ eligibility to represent Malaysia in international football.”
“The IIC found the impugned documents of the Seven Players had the seal and signature of a Notary Public, Lee Lin Jee, Suite 8.1, Level 8 Menara Pelangi, Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru. On the impugned documents, he certified as follows: “I, Lee Lin Jee Notary Public have on this day examined and compared the documents with its original copy and hereby certify the same to be a true copy thereof.” The IIC made several attempts to procure his attendance but to no avail. His presence would have been helpful to assist the IIC to clarify as to whether he had really seen the original copy of the impugned documents.”
“The IIC finds that this lack of specificity reflects deficiencies in FAM internal processes and supports the conclusion that there was no proper verification or supervisory oversight. Notwithstanding any involvement of the administrative staff, the General Secretary as the senior administrative officer retains ultimate responsibility that the impugned documents submitted to FIFA are authentic and properly validated.”
“Based on the seven players’ written statement, they uniformly indicated that all documents submitted in support of their eligibility, particularly the impugned documents pertaining to the birthplace of their
grandparents were prepared, handled and provided by their respective agents, who later forwarded the same to FAM.
“Taken together with these unresolved issues, namely, the absence of evidence from the agents and the non-appearance of the Notary Public, prevents the IIC from establishing definitive conclusion regarding the origins of the impugned documents, or identifying the individual(s) responsible for the alleged falsification.”
