Today, CAS officially issued a ruling on the case of 7 Malaysian Football Association players accused of illegal naturalization.

On February 26th, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is set to deliver a final verdict on the Malaysian Football Association's appeal concerning the illegal naturalization controversy.

According to the initially published schedule, the CAS will hold the first official hearing related to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the seven players accused of illegal naturalization on February 26th.

However, sources from Malaysia indicate that CAS has already conducted sessions with Malaysian officials starting from February 23rd. Malaysian media later reported that the meetings concluded on the afternoon of February 24th.

"According to a close source, only the legal team appointed by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will attend to handle procedural matters. No senior officials of the national association, including FAM Secretary-General Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, will be present in Lausanne," revealed NST on February 24th.

As scheduled, the final decision will be made today, February 26th: "The ruling is expected to be announced as early as 5 a.m. on Friday Malaysian time," reported NST.

Previously, seven Malaysian naturalized players — Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel — were suspended by FIFA for 12 months starting from last September due to falsifying documents related to their eligibility to play for the national team.

However, CAS ordered a suspension of the sanction in January, allowing the players to continue competing until the final verdict is issued on or after February 26th. Subsequently, FIFA also issued a temporary suspension of the ban on these seven players.

The final CAS ruling will serve as the basis for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to decide whether to forfeit Malaysia’s matches against Nepal and Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, where these seven players participated.