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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for one year.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football governing body restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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 implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that FAM conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

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

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the announcement declared.

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

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