CAS soften blow for seven sanctioned players, but FAM to pay up RM1.8mil

PETALING JAYA: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have partially upheld an appeal by seven footballers sanctioned for falsifying documents in an eligibility case involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), ruling that their suspension will apply only to official matches.

In a decision issued in Lausanne on Thursday (March 5), CAS confirmed that the players will still serve a 12-month ban but amended the sanction imposed earlier by FIFA, allowing them to continue training and participating in other football-related activities with their clubs.

The seven players involved are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

However, a separate appeal by FAM was dismissed, meaning the governing body must still pay a fine of 350,000 swiss francs (RM1.8mil).

The case stems from events in 2025 when FAM approached the seven foreign players about the possibility of obtaining Malaysian citizenship and representing the national team.

The players subsequently underwent a naturalisation process and were issued Malaysian passports.

But on Sept 25 last year, FIFA’s disciplinary committee ruled that both FAM and the players had violated the FIFA Disciplinary Code by using falsified documents during the naturalisation and eligibility process, noting that the players had no genuine connection to Malaysia.

FIFA’s appeal committee upheld the decision on Nov 3. Each player was fined 2,000 swiss francs (RM10,094) and handed a 12-month suspension from all football-related activities, while FAM received the 350,000 swiss francs fine.

FAM and the players filed consolidated appeals to CAS on Dec 5.

In its appeal, FAM acknowledged “institutional shortcomings” and accepted that it could bear responsibility for breaches of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The association sought to have the decision set aside and requested that any fine be reduced to no more than 50,000 swiss francs (RM252,365)

The players, meanwhile, argued they had a limited role in providing documents requested by FAM and neither prepared nor altered them.

They asked for the sanctions to be annulled or reduced.

Following a hearing at CAS headquarters in Lausanne on Feb 26, a three-member panel chaired by Danish arbitrator Lars Hilliger concluded that the offence had been established.

The match ban takes effect from March 5, 2026, with credit given for the period between Sept 25, 2025, and Jan 26, 2026, when the suspension had already effectively been served.

CAS also ruled that the 350,000 swiss francs fine imposed on FAM was justified and proportionate.

The decision released on Thursday is an operative ruling, with the full written award and legal reasoning to be issued at a later date.

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