7 Fifa-banned Malaysian footballers cleared to play after CAS grants stay

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Associated PressJanuary 27, 2026 at 08:33 AM

AI Summary

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Seven foreign-born Malaysian national football players, previously banned by FIFA for document falsification related to their naturalization, have been cleared to play again. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) granted a stay of execution on the FIFA ban, allowing the players to participate in all football activities pending a final ruling. FIFA initially fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and suspended the players for a year after determining they were improperly naturalized, violating FIFA rules. The players, from Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Spain, were involved in a 2027 Asian Cup qualifying match against Vietnam. FAM appealed FIFA's decision to CAS, which led to the temporary lifting of the ban.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Vietnam 40% Rodrigo Holgado 70% Imanol Machuca 70% Joao Figueiredo 70% Gabriel Palmero 70% Jon Irazabal 70% Facundo Garces 70% Hector Hevel 70% Court of Arbitration for Sport ×280% Football Association of Malaysia ×280% Malaysia ×490% Fifa ×490%

Keywords

football 100% fifa ban 90% court of arbitration for sport 80% naturalization 70% appeal 70% football association of malaysia 60% fake documents 60% stay of execution 50% asian cup 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.20

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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football fifa ban court of arbitration for sport naturalization appeal football association of malaysia fake documents stay of execution asian cup

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