Malaysia’s seven heritage players free to play again as Fifa bans end, four of them at JDT

Four of the seven Malaysia League footballers banned from playing in official matches for 12 months following the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling about Malaysia’s heritage players are: Joao Figueiredo (top left), Jon Irazabal (top right), Hector Hevel (bottom left), and Gabriel Palmero (bottom right). — Pictures from Instagram/joaofigueiredo/irazabal3/h.serrano13/gabriel.frch

First Published: Sunday, 01 Nov 2026 6:25 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — Seven heritage players who were previously handed 12-month suspensions by Fifa are now free to resume all football-related activities with effect from today.

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) confirmed this in a circular dated Oct 30, stating that the suspensions imposed on the players had ended yesterday.

MFL chief executive officer Mohd Shazli Shaik Mohd confirmed the authenticity of the circular, which was also widely circulated on social media.

“That is correct, it is genuine,” he told Bernama when contacted.

The seven players are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel.

Of the seven players, four – Figueiredo, Palmero, Irazabal and Hevel – play for Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), while Holgado is on the verge of joining DPMM FC, as previously confirmed by the Brunei-based club.

The controversy involving the seven players came to light in September last year after Fifa found that falsified documents had been used to support the eligibility of the foreign-born players to represent Malaysia in international matches.

In March, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) partially upheld the seven players’ appeals against Fifa’s sanctions over the falsification of naturalisation and eligibility documents.

In its operative decision, issued without detailed reasons, CAS ruled that the players would still serve 12-month suspensions.

However, the bans applied only to official matches and not to all football-related activities. — Bernama

* Editor’s note: Fifa stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association, football’s world governing body. DPMM stands for Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota, the Brunei club’s name, which refers to the Crown Prince of Brunei.