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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a fine of $438,000 on FAM and banned the players after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football authority reiterated its assertions about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on the start of the week.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this summer – was also penalized twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Stance on Forgery

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a form of cheating," stated FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to play for a country's squad, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document claims that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's allegations in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the announcement declared.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

Malaysia's sports minister, the official, stated in a statement that "FAM needs to finish the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

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