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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about falsified papers in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Response and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity 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 "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement said.

The governing body will present an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations from FIFA."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Despite doubt surrounding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.