🔗 Share this article Malaysia Denies FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Citizenship Documents, Vows to Appeal Sanctions The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to penalize the body for allegedly forging the nationality papers of seven overseas-born players, who have now been suspended from representing the national team for one year. The Global Football Body's Claims and Penalties In the ninth month, FIFA imposed a penalty of $438,000 on FAM and suspended the players after finding that their grandparents were not Malaysian by birth as stated, but instead in Argentina, the Brazilian nation, the European country and the Iberian nation. The international football authority reiterated its claims about falsified papers in a official investigation report published on Monday. Each of the individuals – who all participated in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also fined twenty-five hundred dollars. The implicated individuals includes Spanish-born Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was originated in the Netherlands, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil. FIFA's Stance on Document Falsification "Forgery represents, plain and simple, a type of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings. "The act of forgery undermines the heart of the basic tenets of football, not only those governing a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of sportsmanship," commented a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel. FAM's Response and Challenge Strategy The international body's report claims that FAM admitted it "received inquiries by third parties regarding the athletes' ancestry and did not attempt to personally confirm the authenticity of the documentation." "The original birth certificates indicated a sharp contrast 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 responded to the global body's allegations in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens." "Claims that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been presented so far," the announcement said. The association will present an formal challenge of the international body's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government. Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions Southeast Asian countries have lately pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of recruiting Dutch-born footballers from the overseas community. The country's sports minister, Hannah Yeoh, said in a release that "the football association must complete the appeal process and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure made by FIFA." "Supporters are upset, hurt and disappointed," she remarked. Current Situation and Upcoming Games Regardless of uncertainty surrounding the national team's lineup, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is set to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, meeting Laos on the upcoming Thursday.