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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized $2,500.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing 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 a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity 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 without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the announcement said.

The governing body will submit an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Political Reactions

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

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "the football association must finish 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 angry, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Situation and Upcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting Laos on Thursday.