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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined $2,500.

The accused group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

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

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

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

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

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement said.

The governing body will submit an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by the global authority."

"Fans are upset, disappointed and let down," she added.

Current Situation and Upcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing Laos on Thursday.