The Sportswriters Association has deplored comments made by the President of the Malta Football Association, Dr Joe Mifsud, during the programme on Smash TV, MFA Magazine last Thursday.

During a part of an interview, Dr Mifsud referred to a section of the local press as ‘stupid’, ‘venomous’ and ‘biting serpents’.

In a statement over the signature of the association’s secretary, Stephen Calleja, the association said such adjectives should never be expressed especially by a president of one of the most important associations on the Island.

The Sportswriters Association feels that if there is or there could have been cases where the president of the MFA felt he was offended by a section of the press, he should have taken the necessary steps according to the Press Law.

The statement added: “It is a pity that the adjectives in respect of the local media seem to have been used to throw the blame of what is considered a crisis in local football on the sporting press.”

The statement added that it was contradictory that these comments were made after that in the past few months, the MFA President emphasised the role of the sporting media and its importance to help keep the sporting public aware of what is happening in Maltese football.

The Sportswriters Association hoped that the MFA was conscious of the fact that if the local press did not focus its attention on local football as it was doing at present, it was certain that the crisis would deepen and attendances at football venues will continue to drop.