The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has said it will appeal FIFA sanctions after being accused by football’s governing body of cheating.

“Claims that players ‘acquired or were aware of fake documents’ are baseless as no solid evidence has been presented so far,” FAM said in a statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday, disputing FIFA’s findings. “FAM would like to assert that the heritage players involved are legitimate Malaysian citizens.”

In September, FIFA suspended seven overseas-born players who had featured for Malaysia in June’s 4-0 win over Vietnam in a 2027 Asian Cup qualifier for 12 months and fined FAM $438,000, citing falsified or doctored documentation.

In its full report released Monday, the FIFA disciplinary committee said “the original birth certificates indicated a

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