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The Malaysian Football Association (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year.

The Global Football Body's Allegations and Fines

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body reiterated its assertions about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born the South American country.

The Governing Body's Position on Forgery

"Document falsification constitutes, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to play for a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," commented Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Response and Appeal Plan

The international body's document claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

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

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

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided so far," the announcement said.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities.

Regional Background and Official Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately engaged in hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated 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 made by FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Upcoming Games

Despite doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting the Laotian team on the upcoming Thursday.