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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the organization for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from playing for the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body restated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report published on Monday.

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

The accused individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its report.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a country's squad, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

FIFA's document states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

"The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said.

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the authentic papers without hindrance," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by FAM.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the announcement declared.

The association will present an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Context and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association needs to complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

"Fans are angry, hurt and disappointed," she added.

Current Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, the team is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.