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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the body for allegedly forging the nationality papers of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In September, FIFA levied a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body restated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The accused group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," 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 national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to personally confirm the validity of the documentation."

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

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the announcement said.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Upcoming Matches

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