VFF speaks out when Malaysian Football Federation appeals to FIFA fails

(Dan Tri) - Last night (October 6), the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) failed in its appeal in the case of 7 naturalized players using fake documents. The VFF said they had not received any official notification from FIFA.

Speaking to Dan Tri reporters this morning (October 7), a VFF official said: "FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have not given us any notice about the investigation process and the decision-making process for the Malaysian team."

Meanwhile, another VFF official clarified: "The investigation process and the decision-making process of FIFA and AFC are completely independent."

FIFA investigations into fake Malaysian naturalized players are being conducted independently (Photo: ASEAN Football).

The Vietnamese and Malaysian teams are in the same group F in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup. The match between Malaysia and the Vietnamese team on June 10 at Bukit Jalil Stadium (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) within the framework of the above tournament, is also the match that caused the group of 7 naturalized Malaysian players to be investigated by FIFA.

These players include Rodrigo Holgado, Facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca, Hector Hevel, Gabriel Palmero, Joao Figueiredo and Jon Irazabal.

In theory, FIFA's decisions related to the above 7 players and the Malaysian team have a great impact on the fate of the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

However, FIFA's investigation process is carried out independently. VFF does not know the steps of this investigation process, nor is FIFA informed of the results of the work process, due to the principles of information confidentiality and the principles of independent work of the World Football Federation.

After failing to appeal at FIFA, Malaysian football may turn to CAS (Photo: NST).

Even the Asian Football Confederation is not aware of and has no right to interfere in the investigation process and conclusions of FIFA, even though the AFC is also related to the Malaysian and Vietnamese teams and the 2027 Asian Cup.

Last night, AFC Secretary General Datuk Seri Windsor Paul shared: “After the FIFA Appeal Committee has made its decision on the appeal, FAM has the next 10 days to notify whether they want to file a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or not?”.

“After CAS has processed the case, CAS will send the final result to AFC. We will forward this decision to the AFC Disciplinary Committee for their consideration. If FAM is found to have violated the CAS decision, the AFC Disciplinary Committee will take action,” AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor Paul added.

The above statement of Mr. Windsor Paul shows that even AFC is only the party to enforce the decisions, from FIFA and CAS, but AFC has no right to intervene or be informed about the investigation process and the decision-making process of the higher organizations. All steps are carried out independently by FIFA and CAS.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/vff-len-tieng-khi-lien-doan-bong-da-malaysia-khang-cao-fifa-that-bai-20251007114055372.htm