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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

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

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

The implicated group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of cheating," said FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the principle of fair play," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the papers."

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

FIFA also said 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 report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

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

The association will submit an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Context and Political Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association must complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to all revelations made by the global authority."

"Supporters are angry, disappointed and disappointed," she added.

Current Status and Upcoming Games

Despite uncertainty regarding the squad's lineup, the team is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.