On Nov 3, the International Federation of Association Football's (Fifa) appeals committee announced that it had rejected the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) appeal against the sanctions imposed on seven “heritage” players who were granted Malaysian citizenship, allegedly based on the forgery and falsification of identification documents.

The organisation also stated that FAM and the players have 10 days from the date of the announcement to request the written grounds of the decision, and 21 days to file a possible appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).