KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) \u2014 Seven foreign-born players for Malaysia\u2019s national soccer team have been cleared to keep competing after the Court of Arbitration for Sport temporarily halted FIFA-imposed bans while their appeal is reviewed, Malaysia\u2019s soccer federation said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Last September, FIFA fined the Football Association of Malaysia<\/a> 350,000 Swiss francs ($450,000) for fake documents filed to naturalize the seven players, who were also fined and suspended for a year. The players stemmed from Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain but had been naturalized in an apparent breach of FIFA rules and played in a qualifying game for the 2027 Asian Cup that Malaysia won against Vietnam.<\/p>\n The Malaysian federation later took the case to sport\u2019s highest court based in Switzerland after FIFA rejected its appeal<\/a>.<\/p>\n The federation said in a statement Tuesday that the Court of Aribitration for Sport had approved their request for a stay of execution, allowing the seven players to continue participating in all football-related activities until a final ruling is made. The players involved are Facundo Garc\u00e9s, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Jo\u00e3o Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal and H\u00e9ctor Hevel, all of whom have featured for the Harimau Malaya national team.<\/p>\n \u201cThis means that the 12-month suspension from all football activities imposed by FIFA on the seven players has been temporarily lifted,\u201d the federation said in a statement. \u201cThey are now allowed to continue their careers and participate in football-related activities until CAS makes a final ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n It did not say when a final ruling is expected.<\/p>\n Malaysian officials had claimed all seven players had a grandparent born in Malaysia, making them eligible to represent the country under FIFA rules. However, FIFA has said<\/a> its own investigators found contrasting information after they were \u201cable to obtain the relevant original documents\u201d from the origin countries of the players.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n