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The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the organization for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for one year.

FIFA's Claims and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body restated its claims about doctored papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

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

The accused group includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Machuca, as well as Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was hails from the South American country.

FIFA's Position on Forgery

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

"The act of forgery strikes at the heart of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a country's squad, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of sportsmanship," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

The Association's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation."

"The original birth certificates showed a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said.

The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the statement declared.

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

Regional Context and Political Reactions

South-east Asian nations have lately pursued recruitment drives for naturalised players, modelled after Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands players from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to all revelations from the global authority."

"Supporters are upset, disappointed and let down," she added.

Present Status and Forthcoming Matches

Despite doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in Asian Cup qualifiers in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.