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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, 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 instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The international football governing body restated its claims about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released 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 qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also penalized $2,500.

The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the papers."

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

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the announcement said.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure from FIFA."

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

Current Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Despite doubt regarding the national team's composition, the team is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.