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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Penalties

In September, FIFA imposed a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and Spain. The global football authority restated its assertions about falsified papers in a official investigation report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500.

The accused group includes Spanish-born Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier 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 Document Falsification

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

"The act of forgery undermines the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

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

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

The governing body will present an official appeal of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

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

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

Present Situation and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the squad's composition, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.