The head of Malaysia's Football Association has been sanctioned, with FIFA setting a date for the final ruling.

17/10/2025 16:10:00 PANDATV

Rob Friend, CEO of Malaysia's national team, stressed that the key priority now is to clarify his role, the national team's involvement, and the negative accusations against Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim in the FIFA sanction case against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Friend pointed out that most recent public remarks are "so unreasonable it's hard to believe," emphasizing that the national team's role is strictly professional and technical, with no connection to administrative duties.

"It is vital to clearly define our role in the player naturalization process. FIFA's penalties relate to documentation issues, and the national team is completely uninvolved in that," he stated at a special press conference at FAM headquarters at 3:00 PM on October 17.

Rob Friend - CEO of Malaysia's national team. Photo: Bernama

"Obviously, our job ends at identifying players in the potential pool. Once FIFA approves and completes the registration of paperwork, they become eligible for call-up. That's it."

Friend said that when FIFA sent the case file to FAM on September 22, he immediately stepped in to defend the players' rights and the national team's reputation.

"I understood that I must protect those representing the country. Therefore, we hired a top global legal team, including Serge Vittoz from Charles Russell Speechlys, to ensure the matter was handled correctly," he said.

Lawyer Serge Vittoz, leader of the legal appeal team, mentioned that FIFA's Appeal Committee is expected to issue its verdict on October 30.

"The decision will likely be delivered to the parties on that day or shortly after. If the players are unhappy with the result, they can escalate the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)," Vittoz explained.

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