Malaysian royals duel over fines on Selangor FC for Charity Shield no-show against JDT

A public feud has erupted between two of Malaysia’s most influential royal families over fines imposed on top-tier team Selangor FC for a no-show at the 2024-25 season opening Charity Shield match in May.

But the decision enraged Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail, who openly questioned the intervention by his fellow ruler.

“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,” Tunku Ismail, whose father is the current king, wrote on Facebook late Thursday.

“Teams from every state that have done something wrong can all now ask MFL to withdraw their decision by seeking the good will of their respective Tuanku Sultan to issue a letter. After this other Tuanku Sultans will also ask, why Selangor can get their punishment reduced but our state can’t?”

Selangor FC’s management in early May asked to postpone the match after Faisal suffered multiple fourth degree burns from an acid attack while he was spending time with his family at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur.

The MFL rejected the team’s request and insisted that the game proceed as scheduled.

On Monday, it imposed a 100,000 ringgit (US$21,000) fine and a 3-point penalty on the club’s 2024-2025 campaign. Selangor was also ordered to reimburse the Tunku Ismail-owned JDT, which was to host the match, for loss of revenue.

The organiser’s board of directors, however, reduced the financial damages to 60,000 ringgit and dropped the point docking following a strongly-worded decree by the Sultan of Selangor, Malaysia’s richest and most industrialised state.

The original penalties “did not make sense and were excessive” since the host team had