The first hearing of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) related to the case of the naturalized Malaysian player is scheduled to take place on February 26, in the context that many factors are still undecided.
CAS has not yet signaled its position, while Malaysian media has continuously put forward possible legal scenarios. The developments of the incident are assessed to be likely to affect the race in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, especially the match between Malaysia and Vietnam at the end of March.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has filed an appeal with CAS and sees this as the last chance to change the situation. Before the hearing, CAS only agreed to temporarily suspend the execution of the penalty for 7 illegally naturalized players, but has not yet been confirmed to be eligible for long-term competition.
In the context of unclear legality, the coaching staff of the Malaysian national team affirmed that they will still maintain the preparation plan based on the existing force.
Coach Peter Cklamovski emphasized that the team focuses on the immediate goal of the match against Vietnam away from home, and does not build tactical plans based on the group of players in legal dispute. This view shows that Malaysia chooses a cautious approach to avoid professional and regulatory risks.
From a legal perspective, the scenarios after the hearing on February 26 are considered quite clear. If CAS accepts the appeal, the ban may be lifted or adjusted, thereby paving the way for the players to return to play.
Conversely, if the appeal fails, CAS can maintain or extend the suspension order, not excluding the possibility of additional disciplinary measures being applied. At the same time, matches that used to use ineligible players may be reconsidered, leading to the risk of point deduction or defeat.
Malaysian media has continuously put forward hypotheses about the origin of the complaint, in which there is speculation that Vietnam and Indonesia are related parties. However, this information has not been verified and Indonesia has publicly denied it.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also said that FAM's appeal mainly aims to reduce the penalty, instead of completely reversing FIFA's conclusion.
AFC Secretary General Windsor Paul John said that FAM's argument focuses on the fact that the players did not directly participate in the dossier violation process, so it needs to be considered for mitigation.
However, the possibility of success of this argument is still a big question mark when FIFA's investigation file has pointed out signs of violations of regulations on blood relations and residence conditions.
According to previously published information, FIFA discovered irregularities in the qualifying documents, including lack of evidence of blood ties and signs of document forgery. The investigation results resulted in FAM being fined, 7 players being suspended from competition and subject to financial penalties.
Before the hearing, observers said that the FAM's ability to completely reverse the conclusion is not high. A more realistic scenario is that CAS considers adjusting the sentence based on the level of responsibility of the player and management organization.
However, the sentence reduction does not mean that players are immediately recognized as playing for the national team, because additional verification procedures can be applied.
The hearing on February 26 is an important milestone to shape the entire legal picture of the case. However, even after the first hearing, the CAS's ability to make a final ruling immediately is still uncertain, because the review process may be lengthy depending on the complexity of the file and arguments from the parties involved.
While waiting for conclusions from CAS, Malaysia chooses a safe professional approach when building a new personnel plan.
With opponents in the same group, the developments of the incident are closely monitored, because any changes in penalties or playing status will directly affect the ticket competition for the 2027 Asian Cup.
