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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the body for allegedly forging the nationality papers of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body restated its assertions about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

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

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

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

FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the statement declared.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian nations have recently pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

"Supporters are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she added.

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.