Malaysia's football scene has taken a major hit after the executive committee of the Football Association of Malaysia calls it quits in the wake of the foreign-born players scandal.
The decision came after FIFA accused FAM of fabricating citizenship documents, allowing seven foreign-born athletes to play in the Malaysia national team.
On Wednesday, January 28, in a statement, FAM shared that the mass resignation would "ensure that any necessary reforms may be undertaken without distraction or perceived conflicts, and with a renewed basis of trust."
It added that until a new committee is appointed, the association's operations will be managed by a small team led by its secretary-general with help from the Asian Football Confederation.
The seven foreign-born players have been fined by FIFA, which also temporarily suspended them from playing football.
However, the suspension was lifted this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is set to deliver a verdict in late February.
The foreign-born players scandal explained
After Malaysia defeated Vietnam 4-0 in an Asian Cup qualifier last June, FIFA launched an investigation into the eligibility of seven foreign-born players on the Malaysian national team.
The players include Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, Brazilian-born Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, and Netherlands-born Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano.
FIFA's "grandfather rule" allows foreign-born football players to represent countries that their biological parents or grandparents were born in.
But according to the world football governing body, FAM had forged birth certificates to make it look like the players' grandparents were born in Malaysian cities like Penang and Malacca.
The FIFA disciplinary committee fined the players and suspended them for 12 months. It also ordered FAM to pay 350,000 Swiss francs ($440,000).
