The TAS ruled against the Argentine players who represented Malaysia and will have 12 months of suspension

The judicial novel involving seven players naturalized by Malaysia, including Argentines Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garcés and Rodrigo Holgado, added a new chapter this Thursday. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) decided to partially estimate the appeal filed by the players and confirmed the twelve-month sanction imposed by FIFA, although it limited the punishment exclusively to the dispute of official matches

.

The conflict originated in mid-2025, when the Malaysian national team lined up seven nationalized players, including the three Argentines, in a match against Vietnam for the second round of the qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup.

In September of that year, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee concluded that false documentation had been used in the process of obtaining citizenship and applied a harsh sanction: twelve months without participating in any activity related to soccer, in addition to financial fines.

The measure was ratified in November by the FIFA appellate body, which also imposed a fine of 350,000 Swiss francs on the Malaysian Federation and individual penalties of 2,000 francs for each player.

Faced with this scenario, the players turned to the TAS, and on January 26 they obtained a precautionary suspension that allowed them to return to activity while the

case was being analyzed.

After the hearing held on February 26, the arbitration panel issued its final ruling: it considered that the twelve-month suspension is “reasonable and proportionate” according to the FIFA Disciplinary Code, but determined that it should apply only to participation in matches. As a result, players will not be able to officially compete, although they are able to train with their respective clubs

.

The TAS also rejected the proposal of the Malaysian Federation, which had admitted “institutional deficiencies” in the nationalization processes but tried to reduce the fine. The court maintained the economic sanction, considering that the federation's responsibility was established.

The ban on playing matches begins to take effect this Thursday, March 5. However, the ruling counts as part of the sanction the period already completed between September 25, 2025, when the first FIFA resolution was issued, and January 26, 2026, the date on which the precautionary measure was granted. In this way, players must spend approximately eight months without playing

.