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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 allegedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after discovering that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

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

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

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

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

FAM responded to the global body's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement declared.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, the official, stated in a release that "the football association must complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

"Supporters are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she added.

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of 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 in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.