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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the body for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and banned the footballers after discovering 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 international football authority reiterated its assertions about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born 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 type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"Initial documentation indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the announcement declared.

The governing body will submit an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Context and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "FAM must complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Despite doubt regarding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.