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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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

The implicated group 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 Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report claims that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's report in a statement on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Political Responses

Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Current Situation and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of doubt regarding the national team's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.