KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Football League (MFL) welcomes Selangor FC’s plan to bring its sanctions to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The sanctions were imposed by the governing body after Selangor FC withdrew from the Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on May 10.
It was recently reported that Selangor Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneurship Committee chairman Najwan Halimi said the club intends to take the case to the highest judicial level, citing the MFL’s oppressive sanctions.
Initially, Selangor FC was fined RM100,000, deducted three points from the 2024/2025 Super League season, and faced a spectator ban for the upcoming match against JDT at the MBPJ Stadium due to their withdrawal from the Charity Shield.
This decision by the Red Giants followed concerns over the team’s safety after an acid attack on forward Faisal Halim.
The MFL’s sanctions also angered the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, leading the league body to revise them. It gave a 40% discount on the fine, lifted the spectator ban, and overturned the points deduction.
When contacted for clarification, an MFL spokesperson said that Selangor has the right to bring the case to CAS if they are not satisfied with the governing body’s final decision.
“MFL has no issues with Selangor bringing the case to CAS as they have the right to do so, as do all other sports bodies. The club made their appeal on June 29, and now the appeals committee must review the submitted documents.
“The secretariat is compiling all documents to be sent to the committee, and they need some time to go through them.
“We will call Selangor for a meeting and announce the decision within the next two to three weeks,” said the spokesperson.
At the same time, the spokesperson stated that MFL will be unable to speculate on the final decision on Selangor’s appeal because the decision made by the appeals committee is not within MFL’s jurisdiction.
“I wouldn’t know what factors the appeals committee will consider in Selangor’s appeal as the appeals body is independent.
“The MFL secretariat does not make any decisions here; we submit to an independent body, and I cannot speculate on how they make their decision,” the spokesperson added.
It was reported that Selangor must first go through Malaysian procedures before bringing the MFL-imposed punishment case to the CAS.
The club needs to cover at least RM80,000 to expedite the case to CAS, not including the cost of appointing a lawyer. – July 11, 2024