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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty 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 the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The international football authority reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

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

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to FIFA's allegations in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

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

Regional Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a release that "the football association must finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

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

Current Situation and Upcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.