The highly anticipated hearing, attended by legal representatives from FAM, the involved players, and FIFA, took place at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Feb. 26.

CAS issued an official statement on Thursday announcing its provisional decision on the case.

According to the CAS statement, the seven players will serve their 12-month bans, but the suspension now applies to official matches, rather than all football- activities.

FAM’s joint appeal was entirely rejected, meaning FIFA’s original fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (US$449,000) against the federation remains in full effect.

This ruling effectively overrules the primary arguments presented by FAM and the players. During the proceedings, FAM acknowledged the existence of “institutional shortcomings” and did not dispute its potential liability for violating FIFA Disciplinary Committee (FDC) regulations. The federation argued that the athletes played only a limited role in providing the requested ancestral documents and did not proactively prepare or modify the paperwork.

FAM’s appeal had officially requested the annulment of the FIFA Appeals Committee (FAC) decision and a reduced fine of no more than 50,000 Swiss francs. The players had also appealed for the complete annulment of their suspensions or a significant part of the penalty, insisting they acted neither intentionally nor negligently.

CAS, however, determined that the falsification of eligibility documents was a severe offense and found FIFA’s 12-month ban to be both reasonable and fitting, citing the players’ complicity in the process. However, exercising its authority under FDC disciplinary regulations, CAS opted to slightly reduce the penalty. By modifying the ban to exclude non-official activities, the players are now permitted to train and participate in practice matches with their clubs.

“They might lawfully seek Malaysian citizenship and play for the national team,” the CAS statement noted, hinting at future eligibility once the bans are served.

The court added that this decision is provisional and does not yet include the full, legally binding grounds, which will be published at a suitable time.

The controversy started on Sept. 26, 2025, when the FDC determined that Malaysia seriously violated international football principle by using falsified or invalid documents to register seven foreign-born players – Joao Figueiredo of Brazilian origin, Hector Hevel of the Netherlands, Spanish players Jon Irazabal and Gabriel Palmero, and Argentines Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca and Facundo Garces.

On Jan. 26, CAS temporarily suspended the FIFA ban pending the final appeal, allowing the players to be registered and used by their domestic clubs, such as Hevel, Irazabal and Figueiredo, returning to action for Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim.

However, with the latest decision, the players will immediately return to their suspensions. The official ban resumes on March 5, and credits the initial suspension period served from Sept. 25, 2025, to Jan. 26, 2026.

The CAS decision is expected to trigger further severe penalties from both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). FIFA had previously ruled that Malaysia must forfeit three friendly matches, against Cape Verde, Singapore, and Palestine, with 0-3 losses due to the fielding of ineligible players.

Malaysia’s 2-0 victory over Nepal and 4-0 win against Vietnam in 2025 during the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers fall directly under AFC jurisdiction. The AFC has maintained its stance of awaiting the final CAS ruling before imposing its sanctions.

With the decision now upheld by CAS, Malaysia face the risk of forfeiting those victories and losing their top position in the group.

This could significantly affect the Asian Cup qualifiers, particularly ahead of their match against second-placed Vietnam scheduled for March 31.