Malaysian FA lose CAS appeal over falsification of player eligibility papers, but players’ ban terms reduced

March 6 – The Malaysian FA (FAM) has lost its appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for falsification of naturalisation and eligibility documents for seven players. However, the players saw their appeal partially upheld, reducing their 12-month ban to official matches only, and not a full ban from all football-related activities.

Last September, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee suspended seven naturalised players for 12 months and fined FAM €375,520 after concluding that falsified paperwork had been used to claim Malaysian lineage. The players – Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and João Figueiredo – were found to have no parent or grandparent born in Malaysia, a central requirement under FIFA’s eligibility regulations.

This decision was upheld in November 2025 by the FIFA Appeal Committee, as well as confirmation of the €375,000 fine for FAM, and further fines of CHF 2,000 fine for each player and a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities.

FAM and the players filed consolidated appeals with CAS in December 2025.

FAM accepted “institutional shortcomings” and did not dispute that it may bear responsibility breaking rules. It also stated that the players had a limited role in providing documents and did not prepare, nor alter them. FAM requested that the decision by the FIFA Appeal Committee was set aside but replaced with a fine not exceeding CHF 50,000.

The player appeals requested to annul the FIFA Appeal Committee decision in its entirety, as the players did not act with intent or negligence.

The CAS panel ruled “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. However, in accordance with Article 22 FDC, the Panel decided that the ban should only apply to matches and not to all football-related activities. This means the players can resume training with their respective clubs during the ban. Consequently, the appeals by the players were partially upheld and the sanctions are partly amended.”

The ban from playing matches started yesterday (5 March), with credit for the period from 25 September 2025 until 26 January 2026 included, where the ban was effectively served.

The banned players had played matches for Malaysia, including a 4–0 Asian Cup qualifying victory over Vietnam in June, a match that triggered an initial complaint and ultimately led to the investigation. FIFA overturned the result of that match awarding a 3-0 victory to Vietnam, as well annulling the results of three other international friendlies – against Cape Verde, Singapore and Palestine.

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