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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the body for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

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

The organization also said 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 reacted to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Political Reactions

South-east Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from FIFA."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Games

Despite uncertainty surrounding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.