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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the body for supposedly 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 levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and banned the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its claims about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

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

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

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 undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

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

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the statement said.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

"Fans are angry, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Current Status and Upcoming Matches

Despite doubt surrounding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.