{
  "id": 17577155,
  "title": "7 ‘heritage’ players suspension ends, free to play, says MFL",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/7-heritage-players-suspension-ends-free-to-play-says-mfl",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T10:07:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/11/01/7-heritage-players-suspension-ends-free-to-play-says-mfl"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "After a ruling by football's governing body, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) announced that seven heritage players previously suspended for 12 months are now free to resume their football careers. This decision comes into effect immediately, as confirmed by MFL chief executive officer Shazli Shaik in a circular dated October 30th. The players affected are Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Joao Figueiredo, Gabriel Palmero, Jon Irazabal, and Hector Hevel. Four of these players are associated with Johor Darul Takzim (JDT), with Holgado reportedly near a transfer to DPMM FC. The suspension stemmed from allegations by FIFA that falsified documents were used to support these foreign-born players' eligibility to represent Malaysia in international matches. FIFA imposed fines and suspensions on the players following this finding. While FIFA had initially banned the players from all football-related activities, an appeal by FIFA and the players to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the sanctions to only apply to official matches, not all football-related activities. Despite this partial ruling in favor of the players, FIFA's original suspension remained in place.",
  "summary": "Malaysian Football League confirms that the seven foreigners sanctioned for using falsified documents to play for the national team have served their one year ban.",
  "key_points": [
    "Seven heritage players suspended for 12 months by FIFA.",
    "Suspension ends immediately per MFL decision on October 30th.",
    "Four players from Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) involved."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}