KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has referred potential criminal elements arising from the ongoing football document forgery scandal to the Home Ministry (KDN), following Fifa’s directive for several countries to be notified of alleged wrongdoing involving heritage players.
The NST reported that Yeoh said she had already contacted Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and was awaiting updates.
“For the criminal aspect, that is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs,” she told reporters. “I have contacted the Minister of Home Affairs, but I have not yet received a response because I just contacted him. I think we should give him time to review it as well.”
On November 3, Fifa’s appeal committee upheld sanctions against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and ordered a formal probe into its internal processes.
The case centres on documents submitted for seven heritage players: Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.
Fifa fined FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8 million), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and suspended for 12 months.
In its published reasoning, Fifa said the probe must examine the roles of FAM secretary-general Datuk Noor Azman Rahman and two licensed Fifa agents, Nicolas Puppo and Frederico Moraes, noting that their involvement “raises serious concerns that merit thorough scrutiny.”
The world body also directed its secretariat to inform authorities in Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, stressing that forgery constitutes a criminal offence in these jurisdictions.
Yeoh said her ministry would not pre-empt any findings ahead of her winding-up speech in Parliament today, adding:
“I am currently reviewing the judgment by Fifa regarding FAM’s appeal. All of this will be answered in Parliament tomorrow.”
