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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the footballers after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football authority restated its claims about falsified documentation in a official investigation report released on Monday.

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 June – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

"Document falsification represents, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those regulating a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

The international body's report claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also said it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's allegations in a official communication on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the announcement said.

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

Regional Context and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, stated in a statement that "the football association must complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

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

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, facing the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.