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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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 accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

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

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

FAM responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

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

Regional Context and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "the football association needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure from FIFA."

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

Current Situation and Upcoming Matches

Despite doubt surrounding the national team's lineup, the team is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.