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

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The international football authority reiterated its claims about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

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

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," said FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

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

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement declared.

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, the official, said in a release that "FAM needs to finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.