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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied 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 stated, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part 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 accused group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

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

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

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

Regional Background and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."

"Supporters are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on Thursday.