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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.

The accused group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

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

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 responded to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

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

Regional Background and Political Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, said in a statement that "the football association needs to complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding 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 qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.