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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and banned the players after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that players 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the announcement declared.

The association will present an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she added.

Present Status and Upcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.