FAM Regrets CAS Ruling on the Fate of Seven Naturalised Malaysia National Team Players

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has responded to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling regarding seven naturalised players. Citing its official site on Friday, FAM said it respects the jurisdiction of CAS, but argued that the sanction imposed appears disproportionate, especially when compared with similar cases previously decided by CAS. FAM stated that the decision is very disappointing for the players as they were not involved in the administrative processes and had no knowledge of administrative matters. FAM maintains that the seven players are legitimate Malaysian citizens who were granted citizenship in accordance with Malaysian law. In its decision, CAS determined that the players would only serve a 12-month ban from playing in official matches, not a ban from all football activities. In its official statement on Thursday, CAS said that the violation of forging eligibility documents remains proven, but the penalty imposed was considered adequate when limited to a 12-month ban from official matches. Earlier, in September last year, FIFA imposed a 12-month ban from all football activity on the seven players after finding that there had been forging of documents to allow them to represent Malaysia in AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Vietnam in June last year. One of the players affected is Facundo Garces from La Liga club Deportivo Alavés. The other six players are Gabriel Arrocha (Unionistas de Salamanca), Rodrigo Holgado (America de Cali), Imanol Machuca (Velez Sarsfield), and three players from Johor Darul Ta’zim: Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel. Although the sanctions on the players were softened, CAS did not change FIFA’s fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (approximately IDR 7.61 billion) imposed on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). FAM expressed its disappointment and said it would consider further legal steps. FIFA’s Appeal Committee later decided to reject all of FAM’s appeals and uphold the full sanctions previously imposed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. FIFA stated that FAM had violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code 2025 relating to falsification and use of forged documents involving seven foreign-born players. FAM argues that several of FIFA’s conclusions are not supported by clear evidence. FIFA found alleged use of forged documents to allow the naturalised players to strengthen the Malaysia national team in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Vietnam.