Tunku Ismail announced this decision on November 6, demonstrating his support for FAM and seven naturalized Malaysian players currently under FIFA sanctions.
Tunku Ismail affirmed: “I will cover all appeal costs, without using Malaysian public funds.”
The senior advisor to the Malaysian national team, Tunku Ismail, affirms he will fund FAM’s appeal to the very end (Photo: AFP).
The move by the Crown Prince of Johor demonstrates his deep concern for the affected players after they were sanctioned by FIFA for irregularities related to falsified naturalization documents.
According to lawyer Zhafri Aminurashid, appealing to CAS is very costly. Specifically, FAM will incur 1 million ringgit (approximately 6.2 billion VND) for the process of bringing the case to CAS. This cost is estimated to include appeal fees, legal fees, expert fees, and appeal deposit fees.
The lawyer clarified: “The appeal fee to CAS is approximately 5,314 ringgit. This fee is non-refundable. Following this are legal fees ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 RM, along with expert fees which could be up to 10,000-50,000 ringgit per expert.
This also does not include the appeal deposit fee, ranging from 10,000 Swiss francs (53,143 ringgit) to 50,000 Swiss francs (265,717 ringgit). This cost will be borne by both parties. However, typically FIFA does not pay, and FAM must advance the entire amount. If FAM fails to pay, the appeal will be dismissed.”
Previously, FAM announced it would take the matter to CAS after its appeal to FIFA was rejected on Monday. Tunku Ismail, who also owns Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) FC, has pledged to cover all legal and travel expenses, which is expected to ease FAM’s financial burden and boost the confidence of Malaysia’s legal team in their quest for justice for the players.
FAM’s appeal was rejected by FIFA. They are now preparing documents to submit to CAS (Photo: FAM).
Prince Tunku Ismail also expressed no concern about potential FIFA sanctions for his recent critical statements against the organization. “I am not worried. Let FIFA act if they want to,” he said curtly.
Earlier, FIFA upheld the penalties against FAM and seven naturalized players in the document fraud scandal. The FIFA Appeals Committee rejected the appeal, thereby maintaining the Disciplinary Committee’s ruling.
Accordingly, FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (approximately 11.5 billion VND), while the seven players were banned from playing for 12 months and fined 2,000 francs each (approximately 66 million VND).
