Lausanne: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has partially upheld an appeal by seven players against the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) concerning sanctions related to falsifying naturalisation and eligibility documents. In a recent decision, the CAS Panel ruled that the players will face a 12-month ban from official matches, although they are permitted to engage in other football-related activities, including training with their clubs.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the CAS Panel determined that the evidence supported the conclusion that the players were complicit in the fraud of falsifying eligibility documents. Consequently, the 12-month ban from matches is seen as a reasonable and proportionate penalty. The ban commenced on March 5, 2026, with credit given for the period from September 25, 2025, to January 26, 2026, during which the ban was effectively served.
The CAS Panel also upheld the CHF 350,000 (approximately RM1.8 million) fine imposed on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for its involvement in the case. On December 5, 2025, the FAM and the players had filed consolidated appeals with CAS. The FAM acknowledged "institutional shortcomings" and accepted some responsibility for the violations of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC). The appeals sought to reduce the fine and annul the FIFA Appeal Committee's decision against the players.
The appeals were reviewed by a CAS Arbitral Panel chaired by Lars Hilliger from Denmark, with Jos© Luis Andrade from Portugal and Massimo Coccia from Italy as members. An in-person hearing took place on February 26 at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. The operative decision is currently without grounds, and a full CAS Award will be issued in due course.
In September, FIFA found that FAM and the seven players, namely Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel, breached Article 22 of the FDC by submitting falsified documents. These documents were used to validate the players' eligibility, allowing them to participate in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in a Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Initially, FIFA had imposed a CHF 350,000 fine on FAM, along with a CHF 2,000 fine and a 12-month suspension for each player from all football-related activities. However, hopes for reduced sanctions were dashed when FIFA's Appeal Committee upheld the Disciplinary Committee's decision on November 3. Despite this, the FAM announced on January 27 that CAS had allowed the players to continue their football activities pending the final decision on the appeal.