Selangor used to be the Kings of Malaysian football.

Many teams feared playing against them in the past.

However, the Red Giants are now struggling to make an impact in the Super League.

On Saturday, Selangor were battered and bruised by reigning champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in a Super League match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.

An inspired JDT showed no mercy as they pumped in half-a-dozen goals past Selangor for a 6-1 victory.

Safawi Rasid (45th and 49th minutes), Diogo Santo (64th), Gonzalo Cabrera (67th) and Ramadhan Saifullah (72nd and 75th) netted for JDT while Rufino Segovia replied for Selangor in the 81st minute.

JDT, who lead the standings with 22 points, need only three more points to win a seventh straight crown.

The huge defeat definitely does not augur well for coach B. Satiananthan’s future at Selangor.

The coach is leaving it to the FA of Selangor (FAS) to decide his fate.

“I have to accept this defeat. I am to be blamed for it.

“There were players who were not ready to play. We were without Brendan Gan, Khairulazhan Khalid and Syazwan Zainon, and things got more difficult when Safuwan Baharudin had to be taken off in the first half.

“Selangor are not like JDT, who have equally good players on the bench, so their absence affected us,” said Satiananthan.

Selangor should blame their poor defence and mistake-prone goalkeeper Farizal Harun for conceding so many goals.

However, JDT also had luck on their side when referee Zulkarnain Zakaria awarded them a penalty, although their player was brought down outside the box. JDT’s second goal by Safawi from the penalty spot gave the home team the confidence to exploit Selangor’s weaknesses.

“Others are saying the infringement was committed outside the box. However, it is pointless to talk about the penalty as I can’t do anything now,” said Satiananthan, adding that a top-three finish is still possible if they win their remaining three matches.

JDT coach Benjamin Mora brushed off suggestions that luck played a role in their big win on Saturday.

“The players played to instructions and were rewarded.

“It is our second big win here after the 7-0 thrashing of Perak. The wins show that my players are hungry for success,” said Mora.

The FA of Malaysia, however, will have to check on the quality of refereeing as match officials have been making dubious decisions over the last few matches.

Even UiTM coach Frank Bernhardt was unhappy with some of the decisions made by referee Zamzaidi Katimin in the 2-1 win over Terengganu on Saturday.

RESULTS — Super League: JDT 6 Selangor 1, UiTM 2 Terengganu 1;

Premier League: Penang 2 KL 1, Perak II 0 Negri 0.