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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the body for allegedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and banned the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement said.

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

Southeast Asian Context and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a release that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by the global authority."

"Supporters are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt regarding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.