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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about falsified documentation in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – 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 accused group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born 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 Position on Forgery

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it noted.

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

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

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

The governing body will present an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have recently pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association must finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by the global authority."

"Fans are angry, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.