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The Football Association of Malaysia (Malaysia's football governing body) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for one year.

FIFA's Allegations and Fines

In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The global football governing body reiterated its claims about doctored papers in a official investigation report released on Monday.

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

The implicated individuals includes born in Spain Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil.

FIFA's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery constitutes, plain and simple, a form of dishonesty," stated FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the core ethics of a clean sport and the principle of fair play," added a senior official, vice-chair of FIFA's disciplinary committee.

FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy

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 validity of the documentation."

"Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the submitted papers," it said.

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the authentic papers easily," which highlighted a "failure in due diligence" by the Malaysian body.

FAM responded to the global body's report in a official communication on Tuesday, maintaining the inconsistencies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the statement declared.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of the international body's decision, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

South-east Asian countries have lately engaged in recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the Indonesian diaspora.

Malaysia's minister for sports, the official, said in a statement that "FAM must complete the appeal process and that they should not stay quiet but have to answer plainly to every disclosure from FIFA."

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

Present Situation and Forthcoming Games

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