Kuala lumpur: The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) have received 45 reports to date in connection with alleged document forgery involving seven heritage players of the Harimau Malaya national football squad. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa stated that statements have been recorded from eight individuals to assist in the investigation. An investigation paper has been opened under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the case is being investigated following a police report lodged by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters on December 24. The report concerns allegations of forged documents involving the seven heritage players. FAM acting president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi mentioned that the move aligns with the recommendations of the Independent Investigation Committee (IIC), chaired by former Chief Justice Tun Md Raus Sharif, after the committee completed its investigation report.
The IIC's full investigation report outlined three recommendations for FAM in response to the document forgery issue involving the seven Harimau Malaya heritage players. These recommendations included lodging a police report to enable a comprehensive investigation to verify the origin of the suspected forged documents and to identify those responsible. On September 26, FIFA, in an official statement, confirmed that FAM and the seven players were found to have breached Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).
FIFA discovered that FAM had submitted documents believed to have been forged to verify the eligibility of the players. As a consequence, the national football governing body was fined about CHF350,000 (RM1.8 million), while each player was fined about RM11,000. Furthermore, the seven players were suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months. On November 3, the FIFA Appeal Committee dismissed the appeals by FAM and the players involved, thereby upholding the earlier decision of the Disciplinary Committee.