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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its assertions about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report claims 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."

"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired 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 formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Context and Official Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by the global authority."

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

Current Situation and Upcoming Matches

Despite doubt regarding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 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.