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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

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

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

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

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

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement said.

The association will present an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

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

Malaysia's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.