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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its claims about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

"Initial documentation indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement said.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions

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

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure from the global authority."

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

Current Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.