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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the nationality papers 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 FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored documentation in a official investigation report published 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 summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

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

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the statement said.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

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

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

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.