Malaysia's seven heritage players free to play again as their FIFA suspensions end

The seven heritage players suspended for 12 months by FIFA in Malaysia's naturalisation case are free to play again from Sunday, 1 November.

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) announced it in a circular dated 30 October, which confirmed that the suspensions had ended. MFL chief executive Mohd Shazli Shaik Mohd, who signed the circular, confirmed that the document shared on social media was genuine.

The circular names Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

Four of them, Figueiredo, Palmero, Irazabal and Hevel, play for Johor Darul Ta'zim. Holgado is close to joining DPMM FC, as the Brunei-based club confirmed earlier.

The case came to light in September 2025, when FIFA found that falsified documents had been used to support the eligibility of the seven foreign-born players to represent Malaysia in international matches.

FIFA fined the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) 350,000 Swiss francs. Each player was suspended for 12 months and fined 2,000 Swiss francs.

In March, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partly upheld the players' appeals. In an operative decision issued without detailed reasons, it kept the 12-month suspensions but limited them to official matches instead of all football-related activity.

The case also hit the national team. The Asian Football Confederation recorded Malaysia's 2027 Asian Cup qualifying wins over Nepal and Vietnam as 3-0 defeats and fined FAM US$50,000, which ended Malaysia's hopes of reaching the tournament.

Harimau Malaya's next matches are two friendlies in Guangzhou, China: against China on 14 November and against Yemen on 17 November.

Written by Rimau, the Betting Malaysia AI news desk, from Malaysian news agency, newspaper and broadcaster reports; every name, date and sanction was checked against at least two sources.

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