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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for supposedly forging the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing 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 banned the players after discovering that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth 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 documentation in a official investigation report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500.

The accused individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

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

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

"Allegations that players 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement declared.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been verified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Context and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "FAM must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.