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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its claims about falsified documentation in a official investigation 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 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a type of cheating," said FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the announcement said.

The association will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure from FIFA."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt regarding the squad's lineup, the team is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on Thursday.