🔗 Share this article Malaysia Rejects FIFA Accusations of Falsified Player Citizenship Documents, Vows to Appeal Punishments The Malaysian Football Association (FAM) has declared it will contest FIFA's decision to penalize the body for supposedly falsifying the citizenship documents of multiple foreign-born players, who have now been banned from representing the national team for 12 months. The Global Football Body's Claims and Fines In September, FIFA imposed a penalty of over four hundred thousand dollars on FAM and banned the players after discovering that their ancestors were not born in Malaysia as stated, but instead in the South American nation, Brazil, the Netherlands and the Iberian nation. The international football governing body reiterated its assertions about falsified papers in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday. Each of the players – who all participated in Malaysia's four-nil victory over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this summer – was also penalized $2,500. The accused group includes born in Spain Arrocha, Garces and Iraurgui, born in Argentina Holgado and Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano who was born in the Holland, and Figueiredo who was born Brazil. The Governing Body's Stance on Forgery "Forgery constitutes, pure and simple, a form of dishonesty," said FIFA in its report. "The act of forgery undermines the heart of the fundamental principles of football, 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 a senior official, deputy chairperson of FIFA's ethics panel. FAM's Response and Appeal Plan The international body's report states that the Malaysian association conceded it "received inquiries by external agencies regarding the players’ heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the papers." "The original birth certificates showed a sharp contrast to the submitted papers," it said. The organization also mentioned it was "managed to acquire the relevant original documents easily," which highlighted a "lack of proper diligence" by the Malaysian body. The Football Association of Malaysia responded to FIFA's report in a official communication on Tuesday, asserting the discrepancies were the outcome of an "administrative error" and the players are "rightful citizens of Malaysia." "Allegations that the athletes 'obtained or were knowledgeable of fraudulent papers' are baseless as no concrete proof has been provided to date," the announcement declared. The association will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using authentic papers that have been certified by the national authorities. Southeast Asian Context and Official Reactions South-east Asian nations have recently pursued recruitment drives for foreign-born athletes, modelled after the Indonesian approach of recruiting Dutch-born players from the Indonesian diaspora. The country's minister for sports, the official, said in a release that "the football association needs to finish the challenge procedure and that they should not stay quiet but must respond clearly to every disclosure from FIFA." "Fans are upset, disappointed and disappointed," she remarked. Current Situation and Upcoming Matches Despite uncertainty regarding the national team's composition, the team is now placed one hundred twenty-third in FIFA's AFC ranking and is set to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, meeting the Laotian team on Thursday.