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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the national team for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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

The accused group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a type of cheating," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to the global body's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

The governing body will present an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the national team's lineup, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.