The complete timeline of the case involving 7 Malaysian players illegally naturalized

Let's revisit the full developments in the case of the 7 players illegally naturalized to represent Malaysia.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is expected to issue its ruling tomorrow on the case of the 7 illegally naturalized Malaysian players. FIFA has imposed a one-year ban on these players for falsifying documents related to their eligibility to play for the national team. Below is the chronological timeline of this case.

• March 19, 2025: The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) submitted a request to verify Hector Hevel’s eligibility to represent Malaysia, including his grandfather’s birth certificate dated January 6, 2025, showing Hendrik Jan Hevel was born on February 3, 1933, in the Malacca Strait. The file was recorded under reference FPSD-18682.

• March 20, 2025: FAM sent an additional request regarding Gabriel Palmero’s eligibility, including his grandmother’s birth certificate dated January 3, 2025, indicating Maria Belen Concepcion Martin was born on May 17, 1956, in Malacca. This file was recorded under reference FPSD-18683.

• March 24, 2025: FIFA sent a letter to FAM concerning case FPSD-18682, stating that based on the information provided, Hevel meets all relevant criteria and is eligible to play for Malaysia’s national team.

• June 6, 2025: FAM submitted a request to confirm Facundo Garces’s eligibility along with his grandfather’s birth certificate dated January 20, 2025, which shows Carlos Rogelio Garces Fernandez was born on May 29, 1930, in Penang (FPSD-19517).

• June 6, 2025: FAM also submitted a request for Rodrigo Julian Holgado, including his grandfather’s birth certificate dated June 27, 1975, showing Omar Eli Holgado Gardon was born on July 27, 1932, in George Town, Penang (FPSD-19518).

• June 6, 2025: FAM submitted a request for Imanol Javier Machuca along with his grandmother’s birth certificate dated January 29, 2025, showing Concepcion Agueda Alaniz was born on August 16, 1954, in Penang (FPSD-19519).

• June 6, 2025: FIFA responded that Machuca is eligible based on the information provided (FPSD-19519).

• June 6, 2025: FAM submitted a request to confirm Joao Figueiredo’s eligibility along with his grandmother’s birth certificate dated March 27, 2017, showing Nair de Oliveira was born on September 26, 1931, in Johor (FPSD-19520).

• June 6, 2025: FAM submitted a request for Jon Irazabal Iraurgui including his grandfather’s birth certificate dated January 8, 2025, showing Gregorio Irazabal y Lamiquiz was born on February 24, 1928, in Kuching, Sarawak (FPSD-19521).

• June 6, 2025: FIFA replied regarding case FPSD-19521, confirming Irazabal’s eligibility to play.

• June 9, 2025: FIFA sent a letter related to case FPSD-18683, confirming Gabriel’s eligibility to compete.

• June 9, 2025: FIFA confirmed the eligibility of Garces (FPSD-19517), Holgado (FPSD-19518), and Figueiredo (FPSD-19520).

• June 10, 2025: All players participated in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifying match against Vietnam (Malaysia won 4-0). Figueiredo and Holgado scored goals at the 49th and 59th minutes respectively.

• June 11, 2025: FIFA received an official complaint regarding the eligibility of Gabriel, Holgado, Machuca, Irazabal, and Hevel after the complainant alleged these players had recently arrived in Malaysia and that their naturalization and international debuts occurred under suspicious circumstances.

• August 22 and 28, 2025: Disciplinary procedures were initiated against FAM and the players, with notifications sent via FIFA’s Legal Portal, giving them a deadline of September 22, 2025, to respond.

• September 22, 2025: Official responses were submitted, and the case was forwarded to the FIFA committee for a decision on September 25, 2025.

September 25, 2025: The committee found violations of Article 22 of the FDC and fined the Malaysian Football Association 350,000 Swiss francs, while each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs and suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.

• November 3, 2025: The Appeals Committee rejected the appeals from FAM and the seven players, upholding the sanctions.

• November 15, 2025: FAM announced it would await the full written reasons from FIFA’s Appeals Committee before finalizing the case to take it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

• November 18, 2025: FIFA published the detailed 64-page written reasons behind maintaining the sanctions against FAM and the seven players, noting that FAM and the players relied on forged birth certificates to claim Malaysian nationality and eligibility to play for Harimau Malaya.

• December 8, 2025: FAM confirmed it had submitted a Statement of Appeal to CAS regarding FIFA’s sanctions.

• December 18, 2025: Deadline for FAM to submit full written arguments for the appeal to CAS.

• January 26, 2026: CAS decided to suspend the 12-month ban imposed by FIFA on the seven naturalized players.

• January 30, 2026: CAS announced the hearing would take place

The event is scheduled at the company’s headquarters in Lausanne on February 26.

• February 26, 2026: Trial date for the 7 naturalized players.

Today, CAS officially issued its ruling on the Malaysian Football Association case involving the 7 illegally naturalized players.

The Malaysian Football Association faces the risk of harsher penalties; lawyers advise continuing the naturalization process.