Top Malaysian football officials quit over foreign-born players scandal

KUALA LUMPUR – The entire executive committee of Malaysia’s football association resigned on Jan 28, the latest blow in a damaging eligibility row over forged documents used to field foreign-born players in Asian Cup qualifiers.

The move came as the Asian Football Confederation conducts a review into the organisation.

“The resignations are to safeguard the reputation and institutional interests of (the association) and to mitigate the risk of further adverse consequences that could affect Malaysian football as a whole,” acting president Yusoff Mahadi told reporters.

FIFA

suspended seven foreign-born players

for a year in September and fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) US$400,000 (S$504,000) for submitting false documents claiming they had Malaysian ancestry.

Football’s global governing body had launched a probe after receiving a complaint following Malaysia’s 4-0 thrashing of Vietnam in a June Asian Cup qualifier.

FAM appealed the sanctions, but a FIFA committee rejected it and issued a scathing report slamming the association for “not taking any discernible disciplinary action”.

It ordered a full probe into FAM’s conduct and governance.

FAM has since appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, where the case is pending.

Jan 28’s resignations will “provide the appropriate space for FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to independently assess, review, and, where necessary, address governance, administrative, and procedural matters within FAM,” Mr Yusoff said.

The Asian governing body will also conduct a review into FAM’s internal management and administrative processes.

“We want to identify the weaknesses and gaps that we can benchmark against a modern and standard association,” said AFC general secretary Windsor John.

No timeframe has been set for the review, he added. AFP, REUTERS