Malaysian national team CEO remains optimistic after 12-hour CAS hearing

After the lengthy 12-hour session at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland on the 26th of February, the tension and high stakes surrounding the most disputed incident in Malaysian football history remain unresolved.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will require additional time to review the appeal filed by seven naturalized Malaysian players.

Previously, Malaysian fans had speculated that CAS might announce its verdict as early as 4:00 AM this morning (Vietnam time).

However, a CAS spokesperson indicated that a concise operative decision is expected to be issued next week, while the full written ruling will be released at a later date.

Seven foreign-born players—Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel—were suspended by FIFA for 12 months last September for falsifying documents related to their eligibility to play for the national team. They have appealed the decision to CAS.

The Football Association of Malaysia was also fined 350,000 Swiss Francs by FIFA, while each of the seven players was fined 2,000 Swiss Francs and suspended from all football-related activities for 12 months.

Nevertheless, at this moment, the leadership of the Malaysian national team expresses confidence that they have fully presented their arguments before the international sports court.

In an exclusive interview with Timesport, Malaysian national team CEO Rob Friend characterized yesterday's hearing as tense but positive, after months of legal groundwork.

"It was a productive week of proceedings. For an update, without revealing too much, it was a 12-hour hearing. FIFA had their legal team, and we had our lawyers along with FIFPRO and the players.

From our perspective following its conclusion, we are quite optimistic," stated a confident Rob Friend.

Friend added that the decision would not be immediate, with CAS indicating the timeframe could range from several days to several weeks.

"It could be a few days, a week, or even up to three weeks. They didn't give a specific timeline, but it certainly won't be overnight. Now, all we can do is wait."