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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified documentation in a official investigation report published on Monday.

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

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation indicated a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the announcement declared.

The association will submit an official appeal of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the national authorities.

Regional Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

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

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

Current Situation and Upcoming Games

Despite doubt regarding the national team's lineup, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.