Unusual developments in the case of Malaysia illegally naturalizing 7 players.

According to the New Straits Times, the Malaysian national team 's legal team filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday (January 8), requesting that the seven naturalized players involved in the document forgery scandal be allowed to return to play for their clubs while awaiting the resolution of the case.

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Malaysia has filed an application with the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) requesting that seven players involved in a naturalization scandal be allowed to return to competition. (Photo: NST)

Seven players – Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, Hector Hevel, Gabriel Palmero, Imanol Machuca, Rodrigo Holgado, and Facundo Garces – are serving one-year suspensions from FIFA after the world football governing body investigated and discovered forged documents submitted by FAM (Football Association of Malaysia).

Specifically, these players all have roots in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain, but have been 'magically' made to appear as if they were born in Malaysia.

It should also be recalled that all seven players mentioned above wore the Malaysian national team jersey in their 4-0 victory over Vietnam last June, during the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. If FAM's appeal to CAS fails, coach Kim Sang Sik's team will be awarded a 3-0 victory by the AFC against Malaysia.

Currently, Malaysian football has two appeals to the CAS: one from FAM after FIFA upheld the sanctions against the organization and seven players, and one from the Malaysian national team.

Malaysia's CEO, Rob Friend, said: “ We submitted our application to the CAS yesterday. This is a request for a temporary measure, allowing the players to continue playing at club level while the matter is being resolved .”

CAS is expected to consider input from all parties, including the players' lawyers, FAM's legal team, and FIFA, before making a decision on Malaysia's request.

Rob Friend provided further information: “ We will probably know the decision from CAS in the next one or two weeks. Then they will inform us when the hearing will take place. That could take several weeks, or even several months .”

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Datuk Noor Azman Rahman was unexpectedly reinstated as Secretary-General of FAM. Photo: NST

Regarding the case of falsified documents for 7 Malaysian naturalized players, yesterday (January 8th), the FAM held a closed-door meeting to find the best solution to avoid Malaysian football being "sanctioned" by FIFA and AFC - from domestic leagues to national teams being barred from participating in international competitions.

These two organizations could intervene more deeply in FAM's internal affairs if they believe the organization is unable to resolve the crisis, regardless of the CAS ruling on the Federation.

A mass resignation from FAM to salvage the situation cannot be ruled out. However, according to the latest news from the Malaysian press, no one has yet submitted their resignation.

Another piece of news that surprised everyone was that, amidst the escalating situation regarding the falsified documents of seven naturalized players, Datuk Noor Azman Rahman was unexpectedly reinstated as Secretary General of FAM, citing only administrative errors and no evidence of illegal document forgery. NST noted that FAM made this decision without consulting FIFA.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dien-bien-la-vu-malaysia-nhap-tich-lau-7-cau-thu-2479154.html