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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football governing body restated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500.

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

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles 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 concept of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

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

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will present an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Present Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.