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

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body restated its claims about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

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

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof 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.

Regional Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, the official, said in a release that "the football association needs to finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

Despite uncertainty surrounding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.