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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football authority reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

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

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

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

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "FAM must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Current Situation and Upcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the national team's lineup, the team 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, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.