JOHOR BARU, Oct 2 — The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Johor Regent, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim have agreed that all parties should ensure that football rivalry should only remain on the field.
The matter was agreed by both at a meeting yesterday after Tunku Ismail had an audience with Sultan Sharafuddin.
According to the latest post on HRH Crown Prince of Johor’s Facebook, the meeting also emphasised the need for mutual respect and unity off the football field.
Sultan Sharafuddin and Tunku Ismal shared their thoughts on unity among the people, professionalism in Malaysia, and the importance of a united royal institution in serving as a symbol of the country.
However, it was not stated in the post where both Sultan Sharafuddin and Tunku Ismail met.
The latest development puts an end to the intense rivalry between Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Selangor Football Club (FC) after what has been described as an “unprecedented episode” in local football in June, involving Tunku Ismail and the Sultan Sharafuddin.
The episode was believed to have been triggered after Tunku Ismail took issue with Sultan Sharafuddin for expressing his unhappiness at the Malaysian Football League (MFL) for handing out tough penalties against Selangor FC.
Earlier, The Red Giants had decided not to play in the Super League curtain raiser against JDT after its appeal for the match to be postponed was turned down by MFL.
This was later followed by Tunku Ismail issuing a strongly worded statement on August 18 that was believed to allude to criticising the status of the Sultan of Selangor Cup football tournament.