Amirudin said he had opened the door to FAS to discuss making the stadium the official home ground for the state team but it stubbornly refused to talk to anyone except the menteri besar.

“They are using the issue for political mileage. There are BN (Barisan Nasional) agents in FAS who have turned it into a political issue to attack the state government and blacken its name.

“Go to hell to them. We have our own plans to develop football (in the state),” he said in the state assembly in reply to Budiman Mohd Zohdi (BN-Sungai Panjang).

On Feb 1, Amirudin said the state government was still negotiating with FAS to resolve the impasse over the use of the stadium as the home ground of the state football team.

He said he was aware of the demands of supporters of the football team but the state government needed to be consistent in its decisions.

On Feb 11, Prime Minister Najib Razak waded into the controversy by promising to hand the stadium over to FAS if BN succeeded in wresting Selangor from Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the 14th general election.

“Today we win, tomorrow we will hand over the Shah Alam Stadium to the Red Giants (the nickname for the Selangor team),” said Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar.

The Selangor team is now using the Cheras football stadium for the 2018 Malaysia Cup season after its request to use Shah Alam Stadium as its home ground was rejected.

Shah Alam Stadium has been the team’s home ground since it opened in 1994.

The squabble between the state government and FAS began after FAS boycotted last year’s Sultan’s Cup competition and was accused of disrespecting Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Amirudin also said the stadium management earned a higher income last year compared with 2016 after the Selangor squad was barred from playing there.

“In 2017, our collections at the stadium totalled nearly RM2.7 million compared with RM2.4 million in 2016,” he said.