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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football authority restated its claims about falsified documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's document states that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement said.

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

Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations from FIFA."

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

Current Status and Upcoming Games

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