This past week there were some contrasting news items that need to be given publicity. The first was that the Celtic manager, and not the team captain, was presented with the FA Scottish Cup, as was witnessed live on television. I wonder if the Scottish FA will propose an amendment to the rule, and possibly suspend Mr O’Neill from football activities for a year, without, of course, a chance to appeal, for having dared to go up for the cup, heading his team.

My presence for the presentation of the championship trophy as Sliema Wanderers’ president was an occasion to mend bridges. It was certainly not the first instance, and, now, definitely not the last.

I am also happy to note that Maltese passport holders, such as Orosco Anonam and others, have been given the blessing of the MFA. They will now be recognised as Maltese.

The absence in Malta of an independent sports tribunal is evident in controversial cases and grey areas of sport, especially following the EU membership our country acquired last year. It would be the forum where anybody who feels that sports justice has not been done, or that laws have been flouted, has the opportunity to speak out. As it is now, any official of any club who goes to court will be breaching the rules, and his club will face suspension, demotion and a variety of other punishments.

My contributions in the printed media and other interviews have brought some, albeit partial, justification to Maltese passport-holders who, until that time, were part-time Maltese. I am comforted.

Small steps in the right direction.

Team building is an important factor in any organisation. Adverts appearing in a section of the printed media informed the public that the Malta Tourism Authority offices would be closed on a Friday, due to a team-building exercise. Hundreds of employees stopped productive work to participate, although not all employees went.

By contrast, other private firms do the same, and possibly also involve the immediate family, but at a weekend, thus not disturbing weekly production. We are in a time where slowness does not pay. We have to be quick on the ball and react immediately to constant market changes.

My last contrasting item concerns the new electoral boundaries that affect the ninth and 10th district as we know them today. Here the moving of Swieqi to the ninth and Gzira to the 10th raises few eyebrows, as the number of registered voters is very similar to each other. Therefore the percentage movement is minimal, and not relevant to any exercise.

Of course this would prevent the PN from obtaining the fourth seat on the 10th district. Why? So we could get a result that, even with a majority of votes, the MLP will garner more seats in Parliament?

Then we get Pieta linked to Madliena, probably via the Regional Road, unless I missed some alley or field that links these two localities.

Well, sometimes these things happen only in Malta.

Robert Arrigo is a

Nationalist MP