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

Seven foreign-born players for Malaysia’s national football team have been cleared to keep competing after the Court of Arbitration for Sport temporarily halted Fifa-imposed bans while their appeal is reviewed, Malaysia’s football federation said on Tuesday.Last September, Fifa fined the Malaysia" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="19462" data-entity-type="organization">Football Association of Malaysia 350,000 Swiss francs (US$450,000) for fake documents filed to naturalise the seven players, who were also fined and suspended for a year.The players stemmed from Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain but had been naturalised in an apparent breach of Fifa rules and played in a qualifying game for the 2027 Asian Cup that Malaysia won against Vietnam.The Malaysian federation later took the case to sport’s highest court based in Switzerland after Fifa rejected its appeal.The federation said in a statement on Tuesday that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had approved their request for a stay of execution, allowing the seven players to continue taking part in all football-related activities until a final ruling is made.The players involved are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel, all of whom have featured for the Harimau Malaya national team.