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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for one year.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority reiterated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Response and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document 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 stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement declared.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations made by the global authority."

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

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team'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 this month, facing Laos on Thursday.