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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents 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 Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football authority restated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

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

The accused group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina 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.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the announcement said.

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

Regional Context and Official Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "the football association needs to finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations from FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Upcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's lineup, the team is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.