How many days does Malaysia have left to appeal FIFA's penalty?

FIFA has officially sanctioned the Football Association of Malaysia for falsifying naturalization documents for 7 players, and Malaysia now has only 39 critical days to appeal before the AFC makes its final decision.

In the early hours of October 7, FIFA issued decision FDD-24394, concluding a months-long investigation into the scandal involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) falsifying naturalization documents for seven foreign-born players. The 19-page document was released with full evidence showing that the papers FAM used to prove the players’ Malaysian origins were either forged or altered.

Currently, Malaysian football faces a 39-day appeal window to "salvage the situation." FAM has the first 3 days to notify FIFA's Appeals Committee of their intention to appeal, followed by 5 days to submit the formal appeal along with a fee of 1,000 Swiss francs (over 33 million VND).

If dissatisfied with the outcome, FAM has an additional 10 days to request a detailed appeal report from FIFA. Should they remain unsatisfied, they have the right to file a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the subsequent 21 days.

After the entire appeal process concludes, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will intervene and determine the disciplinary measures for Malaysia. Previously, the AFC emphasized that this incident is “serious and could affect the integrity of regional football,” and confirmed it will “carefully review according to existing regulations.”

According to FIFA’s findings, the organization currently holds the original birth certificates of the seven players: Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces, Rodrigo Julian Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.

Comparing with the documents provided by FAM, FIFA determined that the players' ancestral origins are unrelated to Malaysia, instead coming from countries such as the Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain.

In its final ruling, FIFA reaffirmed the sanctions against FAM and the seven players under Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which addresses forgery and falsification of documents.

Specifically, FAM was fined 350,000 CHF (approximately 12 billion VND), while each player was fined 2,000 CHF (over 66 million VND) and banned from all football activities for 12 months from the date the decision takes effect. All fines must be paid within 30 days.

The next 39 days will be extremely crucial, even life-or-death, for Malaysian football. Each deadline—from submitting the appeal, responding, to potentially taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)—could determine the future of Malaysian football on the international stage.