Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department chief Rusdi Isa said its investigation found that the process of naturalising the seven players was according to set procedure.

He said the investigations are now focused on elements of cheating and forgery in the process of registering the footballers and submitting their documents to Fifa.

“We have identified two individuals who are believed to have been involved in falsifying the documents submitted to Fifa during the process of registering the players.

“Efforts are under way to confirm their identities and track them down for further investigation,” he said in a statement.

Rusdi said a total of 45 police reports had been lodged in connection with the case, including one by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

He also said 43 witnesses had given their statements, including officials from FAM and the national registration department.

FAM and the seven naturalised Malaysian footballers were penalised by Fifa last September 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.

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 from the date of notification.

On Nov 3, Fifa announced that it had rejected FAM’s appeal against its sanctions. FAM has initiated an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In November, Fifa said Malaysian authorities should initiate a probe into the falsification of the footballers’ documents, adding that forgery was an offence “in virtually all jurisdictions”.