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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 organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

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

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the statement said.

The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Responses

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on Thursday.