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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its assertions about falsified 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 summer – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

"Document falsification constitutes, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," said 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 represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents 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 statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the announcement declared.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Context and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "FAM must complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Supporters are angry, disappointed and let down," she added.

Current Situation and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.