Failure at CAS, Malaysia still has a chance to avoid sanctions

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) retains its last hope in the case involving 7 naturalized players, with the option to appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court should they be defeated at CAS.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) still has a final opportunity to continue the legal battle related to the case of 7 naturalized players banned by FIFA for 12 months, if the outcome at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is unfavorable.

According to sports legal expert Nik Erman Nik Roseli, if FAM loses the case at CAS, they can still bring the matter before the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT), the highest judicial authority in Switzerland, to file an appeal.

Mr. Nik Erman explained that CAS is based in Switzerland, so all decisions made by this body are subject to Swiss law oversight and reference. However, he also emphasized that the chances of a successful appeal at SFT are very slim.

“Statistics show that only about 6% of cases from CAS are taken to SFT, and among those, very few are won,” analyzed lawyer Nik Erman.

He added that SFT does not re-examine the content or evidence of the case, but only handles procedural and legal issues, such as whether CAS exceeded its jurisdiction or if the hearing process violated fairness principles.

“A case can only be reviewed if CAS is deemed to have acted outside its authority, imposed penalties beyond regulations, or showed signs of unfairness during the hearing. Additionally, appeals may be accepted if the ruling violates Swiss public policy,” Mr. Nik Erman further explained.

Previously, FAM affirmed it would pursue the case to the end after FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee issued a 12-month suspension for 7 naturalized playersnamely Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel, due to allegations of using invalid documents.

Besides the suspension, each player was fined 2,000 Swiss francs, while FAM was fined 350,000 Swiss francs.

Although FIFA’s Appeals Committee rejected the request for leniency, FAM’s hope remains as the organization declared it will respect any CAS ruling but “does not rule out going all the way” to defend Malaysian football’s interests.