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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but rather in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The international football authority reiterated its assertions about falsified papers in a official investigation report published on Monday.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined $2,500.

The accused individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and 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 hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," added a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

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

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it noted.

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided so far," the statement said.

The governing body will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using authentic papers that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Context and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, said in a statement that "the football association must finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by FIFA."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on Thursday.