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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple overseas-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 imposed a fine of $438,000 on FAM and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football authority restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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

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

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Document falsification constitutes, pure and simple, a type of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

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

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the statement said.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the national authorities.

Regional Context and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Supporters are angry, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.