FIFA ban on Malaysia’s seven naturalised footballers put on hold pending final appeal

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven naturalised players in Malaysia's national football team have obtained a temporary reprieve from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, halting their 12-month suspension from all football-related activities, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) said on Tuesday (Jan 27).

FIFA suspended the seven naturalised players for 12 months and fined FAM 350,000 Swiss francs (US$439,257) in September last year after finding that doctored documentation had been used to allow the players to participate in an Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam.

FAM then took the case to CAS after FIFA dismissed its appeal. FIFA said it would launch a formal probe into the association's internal operations and would notify authorities in five countries of potential criminal proceedings.

The players who were granted the reprieve were Facundo Garcés, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, João Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Héctor Hevel.

"This decision means that the 12-month suspension from all football activities imposed by FIFA on the seven players is temporarily suspended, and they are allowed to continue their careers and participate in any football-related activities until a final decision on the appeal at CAS is made," FAM said on its Facebook account.

Following the document forgery scandal, FIFA overturned the results of three matches involving Malaysia after ruling that they had fielded these ineligible players.

The scandal drew criticism in Malaysia, with fans and several lawmakers calling for action to be taken against FAM as well as the government agencies responsible for granting citizenship to the players.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had vowed transparency in domestic investigations into the alleged