The Malta Football Association was yesterday assessing the damage caused by Croatian fans’ disturbances on Wednesday night soon after the end of the World Cup qualifier which ended in a 1-1 draw.

MFA president Dr Joseph Mifsud and the association’s three vice-presidents, Carmel Bartolo, John Farrugia and Ludovico Micallef were at the Stadium early yesterday morning and toured the ‘Valletta side’ where most of the damage was caused. They were accompanied by Stadium Manager George Micallef as well as a Court officer.

It was evident that hundreds of seats were ripped off or broken. Some of them were still on the turf behind the substitutes’ benches. Debris, including iron bars, broken seats, a door and other hard objects littered the area.

FIFA Commissioner Gerhard Kapl of Austria was also there yesterday morning taking pictures and adding further notes to those he had jotted down on Wednesday night.

It is to be recalled that disgruntled Croatian fans, segregated in the ‘Valletta side’, and frustrated by the 1-1 draw against tiny Malta, started ripping off seats and threw them into the VIP section.

Yesterd ay, Croatian Police promised to help identify and prosecute the offenders on Wednesday at Ta’ Qali.

Some of the seats injured some locals, among them Minister for Competitiveness and Communications Censu Galea, one of the MFA vice-presidents, Ludovico Micallef, who also had his spectacles broken, and Executive Committee member Charles Scerri who had to be hospitalised. Police superintendent Pio Pisani was also injured during the fracas. Some other persons were also hospitalised, including a police officer and three Croatian fans.

Until yesterday morning, the amount of the damage caused at the Stadium was not known. Stadium Manager George Micallef said: “We cannot make the proper assessment now. Probably hundreds of seats have been broken and have to be replaced. Some damage was also caused at the toilets under that stand.”

Asked whether this would affect the Bank of Valletta Premier League matches at the weekend, particularly in view of the Sliema-Birkirkara match on Monday, Micallef said: “Of course, after all the investigations going on, we will be cleaning all this debris. The matches will probably go on as scheduled, but some fans may have to be re-directed to the Millennium Stand on the far side.”

Dr Mifsud reiterated that it would be the FIFA Commissioner who will be lodging a report of the incidents with FIFA. “It is his sole responsibility, although the world governing body could also ask us for a report from our part as well.”

Asked whether there was a chance that FIFA might charge the Maltese FA on grounds of lack of security, he said: “I do not think so. As everyone was aware, the Croatian fans were segregated from the rest of the crowd. We had nothing to do with the incidents. It was obvious as to who was throwing the seats and in which direction, although there were a few Maltese who retaliated,” said Dr Mifsud.

The FIFA Commissioner, Mr Kapl, was asked to give his own comments about the incidents, but he refrained from doing so. “It is not my job to give comments to the press. But I will report everything that I saw to the world governing body FIFA,” he said.

Police officials were also at Ta’ Qali yesterday morning to discuss the incidents with the MFA. They said incidents of that nature had never occurred in Malta and felt that the number of officers present at the Stadium on Wednesday was adequate. “The circumstances were abnormal and later we had to call for reinforcements to control the Croatian fans who were creating most of the trouble,” one of them said.

Another police officer told The Malta Independent that investigations lasted till 4am yesterday, that is over six hours after the match had ended. “Every one of those arrested was interrogated by the Police and it was a long procedure,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a press release issued by the Community and Media Relations Unit of the Police, it was confirmed that order was re-established at the ‘Valletta side’ when reinforcements arrived at the Stadium.

The statement said it was the women and children who were first led out of the stand to safety. The group included the members of the Under 21 contingent. It also said that some of those who were ordered to remain seated, still continued to resist the officers, but the Police were then in control of the situation and the identification of the fans who took an active part in the incidents did not take long. “After the identification, the fans were taken to Police Headquarters for further investigations,” the statement added.

Swedish delight

In Sweden, the 1-1 draw was described as fantastic, not only for Malta, but also for their own sake.

It is to be mentioned that Sweden squeezed a 1-0 win over Hungary in Budapest thanks to an injury time goal, also on Wednesday.

That, and Croatia’s draw in Malta enabled Sweden to overtake Croatia at the top of Group 8. Sweden now have 21 points and Croatia have 20 with two matches remaining. A draw in Zagreb between the two countries will probably see Sweden winning the group and assuring themselves of the automatic berth for the Group winners, while Croatia will have to figure in the November play-offs.

E-mails received from journalists at Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper at our office requested information not just on the match itself or the incidents, but also on Stephen Wellman who was also described as a hero. At least one of these journalists managed to contact the Marsaxlokk player who played a blinder on Wednesday night, apart from scoring Malta’s equaliser on 73 minutes.

Wednesday’s 1-1 draw has been considered by all of Europe as the biggest shock of the night, perhaps even bigger than the 1-0 defeat for England in Belfast against Northern Ireland.