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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The international football authority restated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on Monday.

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

The accused group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents undermines the very core 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 fair game and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

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

"Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the statement declared.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "FAM must finish the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Forthcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt regarding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.