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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win 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, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian 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 born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report claims that FAM conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement said.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have recently pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."

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

Current Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt regarding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.