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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The global football authority reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

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

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

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

The governing body will present an official appeal of the international body's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing Laos on Thursday.