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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the organization 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 Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born 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 born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

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

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement said.

The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."

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

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on Thursday.