KUALA LUMPUR – Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim has voiced his strong dissatisfaction over Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s public support for Selangor FC.
Following the sultan’s criticism, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) reversed its decision on the points deduction and spectators’ ban, discounting the fine by 40% from RM100,000 to RM60,000.
The decision was announced in an unsigned statement, citing “respect” for the sultan as the reason for the reduced penalties.
Tunku Ismail criticised this move, suggesting that it sets a dangerous precedent.
“From now on, any club that fails to pay salaries on time, withdraws arbitrarily, or violates league regulations only needs their state’s sultan to express displeasure in a letter,” he said in a social media post last night.
“Teams in each state can request the MFL to revoke penalties by having their respective Tuanku Sultan issue a letter.
“This sets a precedent where other Tuanku Sultans may question why Selangor received reduced penalties while their state did not.”
Tunku Ismail highlighted that since 2013, JDT has faced significant fines and he himself received a six-month ban, yet “Tuanku Sultan Johor did not intervene with a letter or statement.”
“Even the issue of the Datuk’s medal saw MFL reversing its decision without an appeal letter.
“Those who criticised MFL should now praise their actions,” he added.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the true ‘Tokong’ of Malaysian football,” he concluded in his post.
After today, any club that does not pay salaries on time, or pulls out at their whims and fancy, or breaks any regulation, just need to ask their state's Sultan to write a letter expressing anger.
— JOHORSouthernTigers (@OfficialJohor) June 27, 2024
Teams from every state that have done something wrong can all now ask MFL to… pic.twitter.com/Y8zKGi98d7
Earlier this week, MFL had sanctioned Selangor FC with a RM100,000 fine, mandated a closed-door match between Selangor FC and JDT at the Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium, and deducted three points from their 2024-2025 Super League standings.
Sultan Sharafuddin, who is also the patron of the Football Association of Selangor (FAS), publicly criticised MFL for what he considered to be excessive punishments.
He also expressed disappointment with Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin for not taking a strong stance on the attack on Faisal Halim. – June 28, 2024