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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the body 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 Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football authority restated its claims about falsified papers in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

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

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

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.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

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

Regional Background and Official Responses

Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association needs to complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

"Fans are angry, hurt and let down," she remarked.

Current Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.