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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 body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined $2,500.

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

FIFA's Position on Forgery

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

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

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

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

"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the statement said.

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

Regional Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from FIFA."

"Supporters are upset, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Status and Upcoming Matches

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