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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

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 June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The governing body will submit an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by the global authority."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Despite doubt regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.