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The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has announced it will appeal FIFA's ruling to sanction the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple overseas-born players, who have now been banned from representing the country for 12 months.

FIFA's Allegations and Penalties

In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and banned the footballers after discovering that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as claimed, but instead in the South American nation, the Brazilian nation, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football authority restated its claims about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report published on Monday.

Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars.

The implicated group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, Argentinian-born Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo who was born Brazil.

The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification

"Forgery represents, pure and simple, a type of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings.

"Forging documents undermines the very core of the fundamental principles of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a fair game and the principle of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel.

FAM's Reply and Appeal Plan

The international body's report states that FAM conceded it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers."

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

FIFA also mentioned it was "able to obtain the relevant original documents easily," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by FAM.

The Football Association of Malaysia reacted to FIFA's allegations in a official communication on the following day, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "rightful citizens of Malaysia."

"Allegations that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are unfounded as no concrete proof has been presented to date," the statement said.

The governing body will present an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the national authorities.

Southeast Asian Background and Political Reactions

Southeast Asian nations have lately pursued hiring campaigns for naturalised players, inspired by the Indonesian approach of bringing in Dutch-born players from the overseas community.

The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a release that "the football association must complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to all revelations made by FIFA."

"Supporters are upset, hurt and disappointed," she remarked.

Current Status and Upcoming Games

Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's composition, Malaysia is now placed 123rd in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to play in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, facing Laos on the upcoming Thursday.