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

The Global Football Body's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

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

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Document falsification constitutes, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery 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 clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document states that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a official communication on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the announcement said.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, said in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations made by the global authority."

"Fans are upset, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Current Situation and Forthcoming Games

Despite uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.