KUALA LUMPUR: Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has consented to the Selangor FC's decision to withdraw from the Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Friday.
Selangor Royal Office, in a Facebook post today, said His Majesty was disappointed that the Malaysian Football League (MFL) rejected Selangor FC's request to postpone the said match.
"As the patron of Selangor FC, His Royal Highness believes that, following several recent incidents threatening the lives of players and officials, it is appropriate for Selangor FC not to participate in the said match, which is also the first match of the 2024 Super League Edition.
"His Royal Highness believes that the priority at this time is the lives and safety of the players rather than winning the cup.
"Furthermore, His Royal Highness emphasises that not only safety issues but also the morale of the team, which is still affected by the acid attack incident involving winger Faisal Halim, should be taken into account," the post read.
The post said the Selangor Sultan is also willing to support solidarity efforts to combat sports violence in any form, including the movement #standwithfaisalhalim #stoptheviolence.
"His Royal Highness also wants everyone to understand that the seriousness of incidents involving players' lives like this is not comparable to previous cases, especially since it occurred so close to the match date.
"His Royal Highness also reiterated that Selangor FC is prepared to face any consequences following the decision to withdraw from this match."
Previously, Selangor FC announced that the club would skip the Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Friday.
They said the decision was made after a discussion with various parties following a series of criminal incidents and threats against several players and team officials within 72 hours.