PETALING JAYA: The hearing may be over, but Malaysia must wait a little longer for the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) verdict on the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) appeal.
According to sources, the hearing proceeded as scheduled in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Feb 26 (Thursday), and CAS could take up to a week to deliver its final ruling.
It is learnt that the CAS panel will now thoroughly review the submissions and evidence before reaching a decision.
FAM are appealing against FIFA’s sanctions imposed on seven mixed-heritage players over alleged document falsification related to their eligibility to represent Harimau Malaya.
The CAS panel are expected to provide detailed written grounds for their decision, hence the delay in the ruling.
The Star have emailed CAS’ media office, led by Vanessa Tracey, for clarification and will provide updates once a response is received.
Seven players - Joao Figueiredo, Facundo Garces, Imanol Machuca, Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero and Rodrigo Holgado - were suspended by FIFA in Sept 2025 over allegations of document falsification.
Since then, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) had appealed the decision made by FIFA, which was then rejected, hence the move to CAS.
On Jan 28, the players were given a temporary stay of execution by CAS, which allowed the seven players to return to competitive football with immediate effect while awaiting the final verdict of CAS on their appeal.
