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

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized $2,500.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles 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 concept of fair play," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement declared.

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

Regional Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by the global authority."

"Supporters are upset, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Present Situation and Upcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.