KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – The Malaysian Football Federation announced Tuesday that seven foreign-born players on the Malaysian national soccer team have been temporarily suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and allowed to continue playing pending an appeal review.
Last September, FIFA The Malaysian Football Association was fined. The seven players were fined 350,000 Swiss francs (approximately $450,000) and suspended for one year for forging documents for the purpose of naturalization. The players were from Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain, but were naturalized in an apparent violation of FIFA rules and played in a qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup, which Malaysia won against Vietnam.
The Malaysian federation then took the case to the sport’s highest court, based in Switzerland, following FIFA’s ruling. rejected the appeal.
The federation announced in a statement on Tuesday that the Court of Arbitration for Sport has approved the application for a stay of execution, allowing the seven players to continue participating in all football-related activities until a final judgment is issued. The participating players were Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, John Irasábal and Héctor Heber, all of whom were part of the Harimau Malaya national team.
“This means that the 12-month suspension of all football activities imposed by FIFA on the seven players has been temporarily lifted,” the federation said in a statement. “They are now allowed to continue their careers and participate in football-related activities until CAS makes a final decision.”
He did not say when a final verdict is expected.
Malaysian authorities had maintained that all seven players’ grandparents were born in Malaysia and that they were eligible to represent the country under FIFA regulations. but, FIFA said: Company investigators discovered the contrasting information after “we were able to obtain relevant original documents” from the players’ countries of origin.
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