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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report states that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

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

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, 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 naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.