🔗 Share this article Malaysia Denies FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Nationality Documents, Vows to Challenge Punishments The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has declared it will appeal FIFA's decision to sanction the body for allegedly forging the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been suspended from playing for the national team for one year. The Global Football Body's Claims and Penalties In the ninth month, FIFA levied a fine of $438,000 on the Malaysian association and suspended the players after finding that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as claimed, but rather in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football governing body restated its assertions about doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on the start of the week. Each of the individuals – who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 victory over the Vietnamese team in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June – was also penalized $2,500. The accused individuals includes Spanish-born 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 Figueiredo who was hails from Brazil. The Governing Body's Position on Document Falsification "Document falsification represents, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its findings. "Forging documents strikes at the heart of the basic tenets of the sport, not only those governing a athlete's qualification to represent a national team, but also the essential values of a clean sport and the concept of fair play," added Jorge Palacio, vice-chair of FIFA's ethics panel. FAM's Reply and Challenge Strategy FIFA's report states that the Malaysian association admitted it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the athletes' ancestry and failed to personally confirm the validity of the papers." "Initial documentation indicated a stark difference to the documentation provided," it said. The organization also said it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents without hindrance," which revealed a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body. The Football Association of Malaysia responded to the global body's allegations in a statement on the following day, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "procedural mistake" and the individuals are "legitimate Malaysian citizens." "Claims that the athletes 'acquired or were knowledgeable of fake documents' are unfounded as no solid evidence has been presented to date," the statement said. The governing body will submit an formal challenge of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been verified by the Malaysian government. Southeast Asian Context and Official Responses Southeast Asian countries have recently engaged in hiring campaigns for foreign-born athletes, inspired by Indonesia's strategy of bringing in born in the Netherlands footballers from the overseas community. The country's minister for sports, the official, stated in a statement that "the football association must complete the challenge procedure and that they cannot remain silent but must respond clearly to every disclosure from FIFA." "Supporters are angry, disappointed and let down," she remarked. Present Situation and Forthcoming Games Despite doubt surrounding the squad's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked one hundred twenty-third in the Asian Football Confederation standings and is scheduled to compete in qualifying matches for the Asian Cup this month, meeting Laos on Thursday.