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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for one year.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report states that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage 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.

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

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

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement said.

The association will submit an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt surrounding the national team's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.