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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football authority restated its claims about doctored documentation in a official investigation report released 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 twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to FIFA's allegations in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the statement declared.

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

Regional Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association must finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Fans are upset, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Present Situation and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.