FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi said the association acted after receiving Fifa’s full judgment on Oct 7, with its legal team completing the required documents ahead of the submission deadline.

The preparation of the appeal was done carefully to avoid any complications at the next stage, he told reporters during the Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers between Malaysia and Laos at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil last night.

Last month, FAM and seven naturalised 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 related to document falsification.

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.

FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.8 million), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM10,560) and suspended for 12 months from all football-related activities, effective immediately.

FAM 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.

It also said it did not rule out the possibility of taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the appeal at the Fifa level failed to yield a positive outcome.

In a separate development, Yusoff said FAM would leave it to its disciplinary committee to determine the next course of action regarding national head coach Peter Cklamovski’s recent remarks, which were said to be critical of the governing body.

He said he had personally accepted the apology made by the Australian coach, but stressed that FAM was bound by statutes that must be respected.