KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — While many Malaysians were preparing to break fast yesterday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) released its decision on the case involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the registration of seven heritage players.
They include Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel.
The ruling followed a series of developments that began with a statement issued by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in September last year, sparking debate among local football fans.
Below is a chronology of events leading up to the CAS decision:
January 19, 2025: FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA on the eligibility of Hector Hevel to play for Malaysia and encloses his grandfather’s birth certificate dated Jan 6, 2025, indicating that Hendrik Jan Hevel was born on February 3, 1933, in the ‘Malacca Straits Settlements’, now Malaysia.
March 20, 2025: FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA on the eligibility of Gabriel Felipe Arrocha to play for Malaysia and encloses his grandmother’s birth certificate dated Jan 3, 2025, indicating that Maria Belen Concepcion Martin was born on May 17, 1956, in Malacca, Federation of Malaya, now Malaysia.
March 24, 2025: FIFA informs FAM in a letter that Hevel appears to meet the relevant requirements and could represent the national team.
March 25, 2025: Hevel participates in the Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Nepal, which Malaysia win 2-0. Hevel scores in the 29th minute.
May 29, 2025: Arrocha plays in the international Tier-1 friendly match against Cape Verde, which ends in a 1-1 draw.
June 6, 2025: FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA on the eligibility of Facundo Garces to play for Malaysia, enclosing his grandfather’s birth certificate indicating Carlos Rogelio Garces Fernandez was born in George Town, Straits Settlements (British Malaya), on May 29, 1930.
FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA on the eligibility of Rodrigo Holgado to play for Malaysia, enclosing his grandfather’s birth certificate indicating Omar Eli Holgado Gardon was born in George Town, Straits Settlements, on July 27, 1932.
FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA regarding Imanol Machuca's eligibility to represent Malaysia, and encloses his grandmother’s birth certificate, which indicates that Concepcion Agueda Alaniz was born in George Town, Penang, Federation of Malaya, on August 16, 1954.
FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA regarding Joao Figueiredo's eligibility to represent Malaysia, enclosing his grandmother’s birth certificate indicating that Nair de Oliveira was born in Johor, British Malaya, on September 26, 1931.
FAM submits an inquiry to FIFA regarding Jon Irazabal's eligibility to represent Malaysia, enclosing his grandfather’s birth certificate, which indicates Gregorio Irazabal y Lamiquiz was born in Kuching, Sarawak, on February 24, 1928.
FIFA sends a letter to the FAM explaining that, based on the information provided, Holgado, Figueiredo, and Irazabal appear to meet all pertinent requirements and would be eligible to play.
June 9, 2025: FIFA sends a letter to the FAM explaining that, based on the information provided, Arrocha, Garces, and Machuca appear to comply with all pertinent requirements and would be eligible to play.
June 10, 2025: All seven players play in a 4-0 win against Vietnam during the Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. Figueiredo and Holgado score in the 49th and 59th minutes, respectively.
June 11, 2025: FIFA receives a complaint regarding the eligibility of Arrocha, Holgado, Machuca, Irazabal, and Hevel.
August 22, 2025: FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against the FAM and Arrocha, Garces, Holgado, Machuca, Figueiredo, and Irazabal for potential breach of Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).
August 28, 2025: FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Hevel for the same potential breach.
September 4, 2025: Arrocha, Garces, Holgado, Figueiredo, and Irazabal play in the international Tier-1 friendly match in a 2-1 victory against Singapore. Figueiredo scores in the 55th minute.
September 8, 2025: Arrocha, Holgado, and Figueiredo play in the international Tier-1 friendly match in a 1-0 win against Palestine. Figueiredo scores in the third minute.
September 22, 2025: FAM presents its statement of defence and bundle of evidence. The players, for their part, present a signed statement via the FAM on the same date.
Following the receipt of the appellants’ submissions, the secretariat informs the appellants that the matter has been referred for adjudication on September 25 by the deputy chairperson of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee sitting as a single judge.
September 26, 2025: FIFA confirms that FAM and the seven players were found to have breached Article 22 of the FDC for document falsification to validate the eligibility of the players to feature in Malaysia’s 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers on June 10.
FAM was ordered to pay a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.8 million), while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs (about RM11,000) and handed a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.
November 3, 2025: FIFA’s Appeal Committee rejects appeals by the FAM and the players, upholding the Disciplinary Committee’s decision on the serious breach of Article 22 of the FDC.
November 18, 2025: FIFA releases a 64-page report explaining its decision to uphold sanctions against FAM and the seven players.
December 8, 2025: FAM confirms that it has submitted its Statement of Appeal to CAS.
December 17, 2025: FIFA overturns the results of all three international Tier-1 friendly matches against Nepal, Singapore and Palestine. Harimau Malaya were hit with a 3-0 loss for fielding ineligible players.
January 26, 2026: The 12-month suspension from all football activities imposed by FIFA on the seven players has been temporarily lifted by CAS.
January 28, 2026: CAS confirms the case will be heard in person on February 26 at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
February 26, 2026: Hearing of the case takes place at the CAS headquarters.
March 5, 2026: CAS releases operative decision (without grounds), which partially upheld an appeal by seven players against the FIFA sanctions for falsifying naturalisation and eligibility documents.
The CAS Panel rules that the seven players shall be banned for 12 months, effective only for official matches and not for all football-related activities.
The ban from playing matches starts March 5, 2026, with credit for the period from September 25, 2025, until January 26, 2026, included, where the ban was effectively served.
The CAS Panel also considers that the 350,000 Swiss franc fine on FAM concerning the aforementioned case was justified and proportionate.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) takes note of the decision issued by the CAS and confirms that the matter will now be referred to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for further consideration.
