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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision 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 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its claims about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

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

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

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the announcement said.

The association will present an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a release that "FAM must finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations made by the global authority."

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

Current Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.