The team manager of Pembroke Football Club was today charged with bribery in yet another alleged match-fixing case.

The accused is Uchenna sive Ucha Anyanwu, 30, who was born in Nigeria but has lived in Malta for the past 13 years. He denied attempting to bribe Mosta FC players.

Defence lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt requested bail, arguing that the accused was a married man and a father of three. He and his wife are expecting another child. It said that, although the accused was foreign-born, he has strong ties in Malta and never had any problems in the past.

The prosecution objected, insisting that this was a serious crime which was “killing Maltese football.” It also informed the court that a number of witnesses were still to testify, some of whom lived with the accused.

Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, presiding over the arraignment, said that the nationality of the accused made no difference. But he denied bail at this stage, adding that match fixing damaged the social, educational and cultural values reflected by sports. “It is like a cancer at the heart of football."

The court was also requested to freeze the accused’s assets, both in Malta and abrod, since his sister works in a bank in Nigeria. Any money derived from the accused's allegedly criminal activity could easily be transferred abroad, the prosecution said.

The court also upheld a request by the prosecution to order the freezing of assets held by the accused both locally and abroad.

Inspectors Elton Taliana and Robert Vella prosecuted.