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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body restated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement said.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Despite doubt regarding the squad's composition, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.