On the evening of March 5, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced a ruling related to the case of naturalized players playing for the Malaysian national team. Accordingly, CAS rejected the appeal of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and only partially accepted the appeal of 7 players who were previously penalized.
Talking to the press, General Secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Windsor Paul John said that AFC has acknowledged and accepted the ruling from CAS, and will transfer the case to the disciplinary committee of this organization to consider further measures.
We have received CAS's ruling related to 7 players as well as FAM. The file will be submitted to the disciplinary committee for appropriate decision according to regulations," said Mr. Windsor Paul John.
According to AFC leaders, the continental football authority will make efforts to handle the case as soon as possible due to details directly related to the results of some matches in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, especially Group F - where the Malaysian and Vietnamese teams are participating.
AFC also aims to draw conclusions before the draw of the tournament in April, and before the match between Malaysia and Vietnam scheduled to take place on March 31.
Our priority is to resolve the case quickly and effectively, but all procedures need to be carried out in accordance with regulations. After the disciplinary committee makes a decision, FAM still has the right to continue appealing," the AFC Secretary General added.
Previously, CAS had partially accepted the appeals of 7 players related to the case of forging documents in the process of registering for the Malaysian national team. The ruling issued in Lausanne (Switzerland) confirmed that the players are still subject to a 12-month suspension, the minimum penalty according to FIFA regulations.
However, CAS adjusted the scope of the penalty by allowing players to continue training and participate in other football activities with the club, but not to play in official matches during the suspension period.
The seven players involved include Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
Meanwhile, FAM's own appeal was rejected by CAS, meaning that the federation still has to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs according to the previous decision.
According to AFC leaders, the CAS's ruling is relatively complicated when it maintains the 12-month ban but adjusts the scope of application, allowing players to maintain football activities at the club level during the time of discipline.
