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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body restated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement declared.

The association will present an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "FAM needs to finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure from the global authority."

"Fans are angry, hurt and let down," she added.

Current Status and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.