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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and Spain. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday.

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

The implicated group includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the core ethics of a fair game and the concept of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

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

The organization also said it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the announcement said.

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

Southeast Asian Background and Political Responses

Southeast Asian nations have recently engaged in recruitment drives for naturalised players, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, the official, said in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from the global authority."

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

Current Status and Forthcoming Matches

Despite uncertainty regarding the squad's composition, the team is now ranked 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing Laos on Thursday.