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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 supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated 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, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

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

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's report in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the announcement said.

The association will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations made by the global authority."

"Fans are angry, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Present Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.