The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has decided to appeal FIFA's decision of suspending seven overseas-born players over allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents.
FIFA fined FAM $438,000 this September and suspended the players after it discovered their grandparents were not born in Malaysia, as FAM had claimed.
On Monday, in a disciplinary committee report, the global football body restated its claims about falsified or doctored documentation.
Notably, FIFA's "grandmother rule" allows overseas-born players to represent countries that their biological parents or grandparents were born in, aiming to prevent national football teams from importing foreign players to boost performance.
Each of the players, who all took part in Malaysia's 4-0 win over Vietnam in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier this June, was also fined $2,500.
The accused group includes Brazilian-born Joao Vitor Brandao Figueiredo, Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomas Garces and Jon Irazabal Iraurgui, who were born in Spain, Argentinian-born Rodrigo Julian Holgado and Imanol Javier Machuca, as well as Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano, who was born in the Netherlands.
In its report FIFA said that forgery "constitutes, pure and simple, a form of cheating".
Jorge Palacio, deputy chairperson of FIFA's disciplinary committee, said that the "act of forgery" is an insult to the sport as a whole.
FIFA's report claims that FAM admitted it "was contacted by external agencies regarding the players' heritage and failed to independently verify the authenticity of the documentation."
On Tuesday, FAM responded to FIFA's report in a statement, maintaining the discrepancies were the result of an "administrative error" and the players are "legitimate Malaysian citizens".
"Claims that players 'acquired or were aware of fake documents' are baseless, as no solid evidence has been presented so far," the statement noted.
The association will present an official appeal of FIFA's ruling, using original documents that have been certified by the Malaysian government.
Despite uncertainty of the national team's lineup, Malaysia is now ranked 123rd in FIFA's AFC ranking and is scheduled to play in Asian Cup qualifiers this month, facing Laos on Thursday.
