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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after discovering that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its assertions about falsified documentation 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 victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born 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 Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

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

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

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement said.

The governing body will present an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Reactions

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

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 must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

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

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Despite doubt regarding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.