Johor: The Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, also known as TMJ, has expressed his disagreement with the suspension of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Secretary-General, Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, over the controversy surrounding seven heritage players.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, His Highness emphasized that the suspension was inappropriate and suggested that all involved parties should collectively bear responsibility for the issue, which has stirred the national football community. TMJ stated, “I did not agree. To be honest with you, I feel the suspension of the FAM Secretary-General is not right. I do not agree with it. I feel many people were involved with this FAM project, helping FAM.”
His Royal Highness elaborated that he was not interested in attributing blame but rather focused on finding a comprehensive solution to the problem. “To be honest with you, I am not interested in playing the blame game. And therefore, we are here to find a solution. What is the best solution for the national team,” he noted during a press conference.
The owner of Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) football club, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, also expressed his willingness to accept criticism or accusations that may associate him with the crisis.
The issue arose when FAM Deputy President Datuk S. Sivasundaram announced the immediate suspension of Noor Azman after a disciplinary decision regarding the documentation of the seven heritage players who represented the Harimau Malaya squad.
Last month, FAM and the heritage players, including Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel, faced sanctions from the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code related to document forgery.
FIFA had previously reported that FAM submitted falsified documents to validate the players’ eligibility for the third round of the 2027 Asia Cup Qualifiers against Vietnam on June 10. Consequently, FAM was fined CHF 350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million), and each player received a CHF 2,000 fine (around RM10,560) alongside a 12-month suspension from all football activities.
FAM attributed the incident to a technical error in document submission by an administrative officer and is considering taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the FIFA appeal does not yield favorable results.