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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The international football governing body restated its assertions about doctored documentation in a official investigation report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

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

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the announcement declared.

The association will submit an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, the official, stated in a release that "FAM must complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by the global authority."

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

Current Status and Upcoming Games

Despite doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on Thursday.