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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to sanction the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the national team for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

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

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the statement said.

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

Regional Context and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian countries have lately engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure made by FIFA."

"Fans are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Status and Upcoming Games

Despite doubt regarding the squad's lineup, the team is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.