'Heritage' player Machuca returns to Argentina after Fifa suspension

Imanol Javier Machuca, one of Malaysia’s seven “heritage” football players, has reportedly returned to his home country following his sanction and suspension by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa).

The New Straits Times reported yesterday that Machuca is heading back to Argentina to rejoin his club, Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield, citing Argentine news outlet Sábado Vélez, which covers the team.

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From critic to cheerleader: LFL blasts Yeoh's 'tone-deaf' praise for Saifuddin

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has taken aim at Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for praising Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, whom she described as being better than his predecessors in tackling citizenship and statelessness issues.

LFL executive director Zaid Malek called Yeoh’s remarks “shocking and embarrassing,” saying they come at a time when Malaysia is embroiled in an international scandal exposing unjust and preferential treatment by the Home Ministry and the National Registration Department (NRD) in handling such cases.

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Suspended FAM Sec-Gen Attended Event Involving FIFA President In Personal Capacity

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 (Bernama) -- The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has clarified that its suspended secretary-general, Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, was present at an event attended by FIFA president Gianni Infantino here recently in his own personal capacity.

FAM acting president Datuk Mohd Yusoff Mahadi said the photos published by a news portal were taken outside of official FAM or FIFA events or ceremonies.

"FAM takes note of the report published by the portal today regarding the publication of photos showing Noor Azman with Gianni Infantino.

"The photos were taken outside of official FAM or FIFA events or ceremonies, and Datuk Noor Azman's presence was in his personal capacity and not on official business of FAM,” he said in a statement today.

He added that since being suspended from his duty on Oct 17, Noor Azman has not been involved in any official FAM activities, meetings or programmes.

As such, Mohd Yusoff hopes that this explanation will suffice in clarifying the confusion that may have arisen following the report in the news portal.

On Oct 17, FAM deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram announced that Noor Azman had been suspended with immediate effect following the disciplinary decision related to the documentation issue involving the eligibility of seven national heritage players.

Last month, FAM and seven heritage players - Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel - were penalised by FIFA's Disciplinary Committee after being found guilty of violating Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) related to document falsification.

In its previous statement, FIFA said FAM had 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.

As a result, FAM was fined CHF350,000 (about RM1.8 million), while each player was fined CHF2,000 (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective from the date of notification of the decision.

FAM, in a previous statement, 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.

FAM also did not rule out the possibility of taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if the appeal at the FIFA level fails to yield a positive outcome.

-- BERNAMA