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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the announcement said.

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure from the global authority."

"Fans are upset, disappointed and let down," she remarked.

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the squad's lineup, the team is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.