A former Court of Appeal judge has slammed the International Federation of Association Football’s (Fifa) sanctions on the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven “heritage” players.

Citing Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code under which the sanctions were imposed, Hamid Sultan Abu Backer argued that Fifa’s decision constitutes a “jurisdictional error” that encroaches on the authority of Malaysian courts.

The provision utilised by Fifa, he contended, only applies to...