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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its assertions about falsified documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the individuals – 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 fined $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

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

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

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a release that "FAM needs to complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations from the global authority."

"Fans are upset, hurt and let down," she remarked.

Present Status and Upcoming Games

Despite uncertainty surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.