Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports - Mr. Taufiq Johari said that the government accepts CAS's decision because the entire trial process is carried out in accordance with legal procedures. According to him, functional agencies will continue to assess and consider the next steps after this ruling.
The process has been fully implemented and we respect CAS's ruling. The government will study necessary options in the near future," Mr. Taufiq Johari said.
The minister emphasized that the case related to naturalized players using invalid papers is an important lesson for Malaysian football. However, this does not mean that national football development programs will be stopped.
According to Mr. Taufiq Johari, Malaysia will learn from this incident and review the related procedures in the near future to avoid repeating similar errors.
Previously, CAS maintained the penalty imposed by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on 7 players identified as using invalid records in the process of applying for naturalization to play for the Malaysian national team.
According to CAS's decision, players Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Hector Hevel, Gabriel Palmero and Facundo Garces will have to serve a 12-month suspension in official matches.
Currently, Malaysian football is still waiting for the next ruling from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In a scenario that is likely to happen, the Malaysian team may be defeated 0-3 in the matches against Vietnam and Nepal in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers due to this incident.
