SULTAN of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah is disappointed with the Malaysian Football League’s call to proceed with the Charity Shield match tomorrow.
He expressed support for Selangor FC's decision to not participate in the game against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.
The club pulled out of the match following an acid attack on the JDT player Faisal Halim on Sunday. Two other top players, Akhyar Rashid and Safiq Rahim, were also targeted.
Selangor FC in a statement last night said the club had decided not to participate in the match following a series of criminal incidents and threats involving several team members and officials.
As the patron of Selangor FC, Sultan Sharafuddin said it is right for the team to withdraw from the tournament following several life-threatening incidents involving players and officials, Istana Alam Shah said in a statement today.
"His Majesty has proclaimed that the priority now is the lives and safety of players and not the winning of trophies,” it said.
"Aside from the issue of safety, the morale of the players is still affected following the acid attack on Faisal, the Selangor FC winger.
"His Majesty supports the eradication of violence in sports in any form and wants all parties to understand that the seriousness of the incident involving a player's life is unprecedented, considering that it is so close to the date of the match.”
Selangor FC are ready to face action stemming from the decision pull out of the match, it said. – May 9, 2024.
