Forgery and falsification
Forging a document, falsifying an authentic one, or using a forged or falsified document in football-related activities is a disciplinary offence carrying a fine and a ban of at least 12 months.
Three acts, one offence: making a false document, altering a real one, and using either. The third is the one worth dwelling on, because it does not require you to have produced anything. Passing on a document that turns out to be falsified is within the article.
The minimum sanction is a fine together with a suspension or a ban on taking part in any football-related activity for no less than 12 months. A ban on football-related activity is a measure that can be imposed on natural persons, and for a licensed agent it sits alongside suspension or withdrawal of the licence itself.
Intent is not the threshold it is often assumed to be. Unless the Code says otherwise, infringements are punishable whether committed deliberately or negligently. Not having checked is not the same as not having done it.
Documents pass through an agency constantly: passports, permits, previous contracts, registration records. The one that arrives by message from a third party, late, in a window, is the risk.
Worked example
An agent forwards a permit received from an intermediary to a club, without checking it. It is falsified.
The agent did not make it and did not know. The article covers using a falsified document, and negligence is punishable.
Source: FIFA Disciplinary Code, May 2026 edition, art. 22 and art. 8 para. 1
Related terms
- Limitation periodA limitation period is the time after which a matter can no longer be pursued, regardless of what happened, and football runs several of different lengths.
- Football agent licenceA football agent licence is the authorisation to act as an agent, granted by FIFA once an applicant meets the eligibility requirements, passes the exam and pays the annual fee.
- Agents ChamberThe Agents Chamber is the chamber of the Football Tribunal that decides disputes involving football agents.