FIFA rejects Malaysian soccer appeal over players using false documents to play for national team

ZURICH — FIFA rejected appeals Monday by the Malaysian soccer federation and seven foreign-born players who were banned for using fake documents to claim eligibility for the country's national team.

The ruling was expected but clears the way for Malaysian officials to take the case to sport’s highest court.

FIFA said its appeals body upheld a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs ($433,000) for the federation and one-year bans from soccer for the seven players. The players stemmed from Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain but had been naturalized in an apparent breach of FIFA rules and played in a qualifying game for the 2027 Asian Cup that Malaysia won 4-0 against Vietnam in June.

The Malaysian federation has a month to decide whether to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, FIFA said.

It is the latest case of false registrations in international soccer — often involving players from Brazil.

Federation officials had claimed all seven players had a grandparent born in Malaysia, making them eligible to represent the country under FIFA rules. However, FIFA has said its own investigators found contrasting information after they were “able to obtain the relevant original documents” from the origin countries of the players.

The Malaysian federation has suspended its secretary general, Noor Azman Rahman, and said it is conducting its own investigation.

The embarrassment for the Malaysian soccer federation comes while its former president, Hamidin bin Haji Mohd Amin, sits on the 37-member FIFA Council.