The announcement was made by FAM secretary general Noor Azman Rahman at a press conference in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday afternoon. He revealed that the association received official notification from CAS on Jan. 26. The hearing will be held on Feb. 25 or 26, according to New Straits Times.
While the hearing is scheduled for late February, a final written ruling may take several days to be issued. The verdict is eagerly awaited by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which has withheld judgment on Malaysia’s results in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers pending the CAS decision.
FIFA has already stripped Malaysia of results in friendly matches against Cape Verde, Singapore and Palestine due to the use of ineligible players, handing their opponents 3-0 wins. However, two competitive matches under AFC jurisdiction will have to wait: a 2-0 win over Nepal (March 25, 2025) and a 4-0 victory over Vietnam (June 10, 2025).
If CAS upholds the ban and the AFC hands Malaysia a 0-3 forfeit for these matches, Vietnam would automatically guarantee qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup. This would make the upcoming final group match against Malaysia, scheduled for March 31, 2026, at Thien Truong Stadium irrelevant to the qualification race.
In the meantime, the seven naturalized players, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel, have been granted provisional clearance to train and play for their clubs. Notably, the trio of Figueiredo, Irazabal and Hevel have already resumed training with Malaysian powerhouse Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
FAM officially took the case to CAS on Dec. 8, 2025, after having two previous appeals rejected by FIFA. While acknowledging that the chances of an overturn are slim, FAM aims to reduce the hefty fine of 350,000 Swiss francs ($450,000) and shorten the one-year ban imposed on the players.
Also on Wednesday, the entire executive board of the FAM resigned, three years before their terms were set to expire. The board cited four primary reasons for the mass exodus: to protect the sanctity of FAM and Malaysian football, to demonstrate ethical accountability, to pave the way for independent oversight by FIFA and the AFC and to regain the trust of the public.
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