Professional Players Association Supports Seven Naturalized Malaysian Players

Malaysian national team CEO Rob Friend confirmed that the global professional players' union FIFPRO provided support to seven Malaysian players during a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland on February 26.

He stated that besides the appointed legal team, the Malaysian national team side also received assistance from FIFPRO in defending the rights and seeking justice for the seven national players who were suspended for 12 months by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee last September.

According to the case file, FIFA's punishment of these players stemmed from their act of falsifying documents to meet eligibility requirements to play for the Malaysian national team.

"Based on the latest update, the hearing lasted 12 hours. FIFA had their lawyers, and we also had our lawyers along with FIFPRO and the players," he said.

Friend added that he is optimistic about the players receiving a favorable ruling, with the decision from CAS expected to be announced next week.

"It was a productive week. We are very optimistic," he shared.

Previously, there was information that the decision on the appeal by the seven Malaysian national team players at CAS might extend into next week as the panel needed additional time for deliberation.

According to feedback from CAS, the panel handling the case still requires time to review all arguments and evidence before issuing a final verdict.

Given the sensitive nature of the case and the high level of attention, CAS also announced it will issue an official press release immediately after the decision is announced.

After announcing the preliminary decision, the full award containing detailed reasoning will be finalized and sent to the involved parties at a later time.

The full decision document will clarify the basis of the CAS panel's reasoning regarding the submitted appeal.

However, this full decision will only be made public if the involved parties do not request confidentiality.

It is noted that the case began when FIFA imposed a 12-month suspension on seven Malaysian-origin players due to issues related to eligibility regulations.

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

Following the sanction, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) promptly filed an appeal with CAS to seek a fairer ruling and create an opportunity for the players to return to play soon.

All seven players are key figures for the national team and have played for various domestic and international clubs before their suspension.

Meanwhile, the provisional stay of FIFA's sanction granted by CAS provides an opportunity for the involved parties to present their arguments and defend themselves at the international level.

Owner of Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) club, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, called on any party with information related to the allegations of document forgery involving the seven players to come forward with verifiable evidence and submit it to the relevant state authorities.

According to him, this step is crucial not only to ensure justice is served but also to protect the integrity and image of Malaysian football both domestically and internationally.

This firm statement is seen as a call for all parties to cease baseless speculation and instead cooperate fully with the authorities to ensure the case is resolved transparently and professionally.