KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has partially upheld an appeal by seven players against FIFA on sanctions for falsifying naturalisation and eligibility documents.
In an operative decision (without grounds) released today, the CAS panel ruled that the seven players shall receive a ban for 12 months, but from official matches only and not from all football related activities.
“After considering the evidence, the CAS panel found that the infraction of falsifying eligibility documents was established and that the 12-month ban from playing matches was a reasonable and proportionate sanction for the players, given their complicit responsibility in this fraud,” it said.
However, in accordance with Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), the panel decided the ban should only apply to matches and not all football-related activities.
As such, it said the players can resume training with their respective clubs during the ban.
“The ban from playing matches starts today, March 5, 2026, with credit for the period from September 25, 2025, until January 26, 2026, included, where the ban was effectively served,” it said.
In the meantime, the CAS panel considered that the fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (about RM1.8 million) on Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in the aforementioned case is justified and proportionate.
Meanwhile, the CAS panel said FAM and the players filed consolidated appeals with the court on December 5, 2025.
“In their appeal, the FAM accepted the existence of ‘institutional shortcomings’ and did not dispute that it may bear responsibility in violating the FDC. It also stated that the players had a limited role in providing documents requested by FAM and did not prepare, nor alter them,” it said.
It said the FAM appeal requested to set aside the decision by the FIFA Appeal Committee and that the FAM should be sanctioned with a fine not exceeding 50,000 Swiss francs.
“The appeals by the players requested to annul the FIFA Appeal Committee decision in its entirety, or in the alternative, issue a proportionate sanction, as the players did not act with intent or negligence,” it said.
The appeals were considered jointly by a CAS arbitral panel composed of Lars Hilliger (Denmark) as president and José Luis Andrade (Portugal) and Massimo Coccia (Italy), while an in-person hearing took place on February 26 at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“This is an operative decision (without grounds), with a full CAS Award to be issued in due course,” it said.
Earlier in September, FIFA confirmed that FAM and the seven players — Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel — were found to have breached Article 22 of the FDC for document falsification.
Investigations found that the FAM had submitted documents believed to be falsified to validate the eligibility of the players, allowing them to feature in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory over Vietnam in a Group F match of the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers here in June last year.
The FAM was then ordered to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs, while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and handed a 12-month suspension from football-related activities.
Hopes of a reduction in the sanctions were dashed after FIFA’s Appeal Committee on November 3 rejected appeals by FAM and the players, thereby upholding the Disciplinary Committee’s decision on the serious breach of Article 22 of the FDC.
However, on January 27, FAM announced that CAS had granted the players’ application for a stay of execution of the sanctions, allowing them to continue their careers and participate in football-related activities pending a final decision on the appeal.
