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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the organization for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in Argentina, Brazil, the European country and the Iberian nation. The global football authority restated its assertions about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on Monday.

Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500.

The accused group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Stance on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

The international body's document states that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and did not attempt to independently verify the validity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation showed a stark difference to the submitted papers," it noted.

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

The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Claims that players 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been provided to date," the statement said.

The association will submit an official appeal of the international body's ruling, using authentic papers that have been verified by the Malaysian government.

Regional Background and Official Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community.

The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a statement that "the football association must finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

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

Current Status and Upcoming Matches

Regardless of doubt regarding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.