In an Instagram post, he said Article 22 of Fifa’s disciplinary code only allows punishment for those who falsify or use falsified documents, which he claimed did not apply to the players involved.

“Fifa continues to punish the players by misapplying the law… none of that (Article 22) applies to the players,” Tunku Ismail said, adding that the decision “appears to be politically motivated rather than anything else.”

He said he would support the players’ fight “at all cost till the end”.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the seven naturalised Malaysian footballers were penalised by Fifa last month after the world football body said FAM had submitted falsified documents to confirm the players’ eligibility before Malaysia’s 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam on June 10.

A Fifa investigation found that falsified documents had been used to claim that each player had a grandparent born in Malaysia, although they were actually born in Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the Netherlands.

The players involved are Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.

FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8 million), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs (RM10,560) and banned for 12 months.

Fifa yesterday dismissed FAM’s appeal and upheld the sanctions on the national body and the seven naturalised players.

FAM acting president Yusoff Mahadi said the association would write to Fifa to obtain the full written grounds for its decision before appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.