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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

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

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement declared.

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

Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."

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

Present Situation and Forthcoming Matches

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