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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) 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 banned from representing the country for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football authority reiterated its claims about falsified documentation in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

"Document falsification constitutes, plain and simple, a type of cheating," said FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of football, 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 principle of fair play," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it noted.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

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

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement said.

The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Official Reactions

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

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

"Fans are angry, hurt and let down," she added.

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt regarding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.