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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's report claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to FIFA's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will present an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association needs to complete 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 remarked.

Current Situation and Upcoming Games

Despite doubt surrounding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.