FAM speaks out regarding CAS's decision to postpone the ruling

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is set to release a press statement today (27/2) following the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) postponement of the verdict announcement to the following week.

Malaysian football fans continue to anxiously await the decision on the appeal submitted by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) concerning the penalty imposed by FIFA on the association and seven national team players.

According to Bernama's report on the official website of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at 7:00 a.m. this morning, the verdict has still not been announced following the hearing that took place early today.

FAM General Secretary, Datuk Noor Azman Rahman, briefly informed Bernama that a statement will be released today regarding the aforementioned hearing.

Last December, FAM confirmed it had filed an Appeal Statement with CAS regarding FIFA's sanctions against the association and seven naturalized players of the Malaysian national team.

Previously in September, FIFA confirmed that FAM and seven players—Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—had violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) concerning document forgery.

Consequently, FAM was fined 350,000 CHF (approximately 1.8 million RM), while each player was fined 2,000 CHF (approximately 11,000 RM) and suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.

Hopes for a reduced penalty were dashed when the FIFA Appeal Committee on November 3 rejected the appeals from FAM and all the players, thereby upholding the Disciplinary Committee's decision on the serious violation of Article 22 of the FDC.

However, on January 27, FAM announced that CAS had granted the players' request for a stay of execution, allowing them to continue playing and participating in football activities until a final ruling is made on the appeal.