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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The international football authority restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Document falsification constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of fair play," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

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

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement declared.

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

South-east Asian nations have recently pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by the global authority."

"Fans are angry, disappointed and let down," she added.

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Despite uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing Laos on Thursday.