The secretary general of the Malaysian Football Association has been suspended due to an investigation into the naturalization scandal

The Football Association of Malaysia said on Friday it has suspended its secretary-general and will form an independent committee to investigate a «technical error» that led to FIFA banning seven naturalized national team players for alleged use of forged documents.

At a press conference, FAM and its legal team denied committing forgery, but refused to answer repeated questions from reporters about how the players were naturalized, pending their appeal against the ban.

The scandal has sparked an uproar in Malaysia, with fans and some lawmakers calling for heads to roll at FAM and government agencies responsible for granting citizenship to the players.

FAM Vice Chairman S. Sivasundaram said the organisation’s Secretary General Noor Azman Rahman has been suspended with immediate effect to allow for an independent investigation.

FIFA’s disciplinary committee said last week that Malaysian authorities may have relied on forged documents to naturalize mixed-heritage players Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

It also accused FAM of failing to conduct due diligence after FIFA was able to obtain birth certificates that showed significant discrepancies with documents submitted by FAM to prove the players’ Malaysian origins.

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Serge Vittoz, a lawyer representing FAM, said the organization has appealed FIFA’s suspension. A decision by the world football governing body’s appeals committee is expected to be handed down on October 30.

“The aim of the appeal is to have all sanctions annulled and to demonstrate that there is no falsification on the part of the players,” he said.

“There was no falsification on the part of FAM as an institution, and if there is any misconduct, it must be against the person in question,” he added, without giving any details.

Sivasundaram reiterated that a «technical error» had been made in submitting documents, saying the process had been rushed to meet the deadline for registering the players.

He declined to respond to additional questions about who was responsible for the error or how it was made, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Malaysian government authorities have previously said the players met all the conditions required to obtain citizenship, although Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has admitted he relied on his ministerial discretion to relax some of the requirements.

Published on October 17, 2025