Buenos Aires, March 5 (NA) - The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ratified the sanction imposed by FIFA on players who participated with the Malaysia national team, although it partially granted the appeal filed by the involved footballers. As reported by the Argentine News Agency (NA), the ruling determined to limit the twelve-month disqualification for falsifying documents to obtain a Malaysian passport only to official matches, thus allowing them to participate in friendly matches during the suspension period. The CAS panel thus reduced the punishment to the Argentines Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garcés, and Rodrigo Holgado; the Brazilian Joao Figueiredo; the Spaniards Gabriel Palmero and Jon Irazabal; and the Dutchman Hector Hevel Serrano. The body reversed the precautionary measure it had granted on January 26, which had allowed Imanol Machuca and the rest of those involved to rejoin their clubs. In this way, although the players did not achieve the total annulment of the punishment they requested, the resolution guarantees them the right to maintain their competitive pace with their teams while completing the remaining months of official suspension. The Malaysian body, whose fine of 350,000 Swiss francs was ratified, did not question its responsibility for the regulatory violation, but argued that the players had limited participation and were not responsible for preparing or altering the documentation to obtain citizenship. The effective sanction for the footballers begins to be counted from this Thursday, although CAS clarified that the period between September 25, 2025, and January 26, 2026, will be considered as already served. After a hearing held on February 26, CAS determined that the twelve-month suspension is a 'reasonable and proportionate' punishment under the FIFA Disciplinary Code, although with a key modification: the disqualification applies exclusively to the playing of official matches, allowing the footballers to continue training with their teams. In its defense before the tribunal, the Football Association of Malaysia recognized the existence of 'institutional deficiencies' in the naturalization processes.
