Sultan in Malaysia asks police to beat up Selangor FC fans to turn on flares ahead of the match

Illustration of football fans lighting flares. (Beyza Kaplan-Pexels)

JAKARTA - The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, was annoyed by the actions of Selangor FC supporters who lit flares ahead of the football club nicknamed The Red Giants playing in the stadium.

He asked the police to punish those involved in the action, which he considered a form of gangsterism and hooliganism among supporters of the local football team.

"His Majesty wants the police to identify the mastermind behind the incident. If found guilty, those involved must be punished with the maximum punishment allowed by law," read a statement from the Alam Shah Palace on Tuesday, February 3, quoted from Bernama.

Sultan Sharafuddin, who is also the patron of Selangor FC, called on all supporters of the team to control themselves and maintain the club's good name.

"This is meant to be a lesson for other Selangor FC supporters so that similar incidents do not happen again," the statement read.

Furthermore, Sultan Sharafuddin suggested that Selangor FC supporters who caused environmental disturbances were sanctioned with a ban on entering the stadium to attend any matches involving the team.

On Monday, February 2, at least 33 Selangor FC supporters were detained for the flare incident on the Kuala Terengganu Bridge ahead of the Malaysian League match between Terengganu FC and Selangor FC at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus on Sunday, February 1 night.

Head of the Kuala Terengganu District Police, ACP Azli Mohd Noor They said they were detained for the sake of police investigation. Those who were secured were among the approximately 400 supporters who were detained and taken to the Kuala Terengganu district police headquarters for urine examination.