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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has announced it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the organization for allegedly forging the nationality papers of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the country for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week.

Each of the players – who all took part in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the qualifying match for the 2027 Asian Cup this June – was also fined $2,500.

The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

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

"Forging documents strikes at the very core of the basic tenets of football, not only those regulating a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy

FIFA's document claims that the Malaysian association admitted it "was contacted by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to independently verify the authenticity of the papers."

"Initial documentation showed a sharp contrast to the documentation provided," it noted.

The organization also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

FAM reacted to FIFA's report in a statement on the following day, asserting the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the statement said.

The association will present an formal challenge of FIFA's decision, using original documents that have been verified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Context and Political Responses

South-east Asian countries have recently pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

The country's sports minister, the official, said in a statement that "FAM needs to complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Fans are upset, hurt and let down," she added.

Present Status and Upcoming Matches

Despite doubt regarding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.