PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Windsor Paul has played down concerns over three suspended players featuring in last week’s AFC Champions League Elite tie, saying the matter was not an issue as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had granted a "stay of execution" on the suspension.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) secretary general explained that the stay temporarily halted the enforcement of the ban during the appeal process, allowing the players to participate.
"When CAS grant a stay, the suspension is not enforced during that period and the time does not count towards the suspension," he said.
The clarification follows confusion surrounding the decision that allowed the players to feature in the first leg of the continental clash, with Bartosch Gaul of Sanfrecce Hiroshima admitting he was puzzled by the ruling.
Sanfrecce lost the game 1-3, and did win the second-leg 1-0 in Hiroshina but it was not enough for them to get to the quarter-finals on aggregate as they lost 2-3.
Windsor said the AFC had not received any formal complaint regarding the matter.
The issue stems from a CAS ruling in a case involving the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven players sanctioned for falsifying documents in an eligibility matter.
In their decision issued in Lausanne last week, CAS partially upheld the players’ appeal but amended the punishment previously imposed by FIFA.
While the players must still serve a 12-month suspension, the ban will apply only to official matches.
They are still allowed to train and take part in other football-related activities with their respective clubs.
The players involved are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.
Three of them, Figueiredo, Irazabal and Hevel, have featured for Johor Darul Ta’zim in the AFC Champions League Elite.
Windsor also stressed that player nationality is no longer a determining factor in AFC club competitions under the revamped regulations.
He said the AFC have removed the previous quotas for local and foreign players in both the AFC Champions League Elite and AFC Champions League Two.
"Player registration is no longer based on nationality," he said.
"As long as a player has a valid contract with the club, he can be registered. Clubs are free to sign and register players of any nationality."
He added that it is common for players to hold multiple passports and that clubs may use any of them for registration purposes.
"We use passport data for our database and to track player history, but it is no longer a qualifying criterion for the competition itself."
However, Windsor emphasised that eligibility to represent a club differs from eligibility to represent a national team in competitions governed by FIFA.
He added that the AFC competition committee removed the player quota because Asian clubs were often at a disadvantage in global tournaments such as the FIFA Club World Cup.
"Clubs from other regions often have a high number of foreign players. To challenge the best in the world, we have to allow our clubs the same flexibility.
"This does not mean clubs must choose only foreigners. For example, Japanese clubs often field five or six local players because their standard is equal to foreign talent.
"It depends on the local league and the club’s strategy. This change gives clubs the option to mix and match as they see fit, aligning with the AFC’s vision to compete with the best in the world."
