KUALA LUMPUR — The Fifa Appeal Committee has upheld the sanctions imposed by its disciplinary committee against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven heritage players for breaches related to forgery and falsification under Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC).

In a statement published on Fifa’s official website, the Appeals Committee confirmed that it had dismissed the appeals lodged by FAM and the players — Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

Consequently, FAM has been ordered to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.9 million), while each player has been fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM11,000).

The seven players have also been handed a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.

Fifa informed that the sanctions were confirmed after analysing submissions and conducting a hearing, and FAM and the players have 10 days to request a motivated decision, and 21 days thereafter to file an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Last month, FAM and the seven heritage players were sanctioned by Fifa’s disciplinary committee after being found guilty of violating Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.

Fifa had stated that FAM submitted falsified documents to confirm the eligibility of the players, allowing them to compete in the third-round match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10.

FAM later explained that it had identified a technical error in the submission process involving the seven players’ documents, which was made by an administrative staff member, and filed an official appeal with Fifa regarding the issue shortly thereafter.