The news that Simon Gerada had shown disrespect for Malta when throwing his shirt and bat in a bin after losing to Australia’s William Henzell in midweek has sparked a new controversy in local sports circles.
The news item, reproduced in a Reuters article and also by Charisse Ede on Fox Sports.au clearly indicates that Gerada did not take the loss well.
This is what Ede reported on the match:
“Australia’s top table tennis player, William Henzell, capped his 24th birthday today with a Commonwealth Games win over a former teammate now playing for Malta.
“Simon Gerada did not take the loss well, storming out of the arena and throwing his team shirt and bat in a bin.
“Gerada, who played for Australia at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, won the first two games but Henzell took the next four to win the match and move through to the quarter-finals.
“Henzell said Gerada was a passionate player and he did not blame him for taking the loss hard. “It was a very close match and it could have gone either way,” he said. “He’s a very passionate player and I think that’s one of his big strengths, that he can turn himself on like that. Really the flip-side of that is when things go the wrong way, then that energy can turn bad.”
Gerada later said he meant no disrespect to Malta by throwing his shirt in the bin, adding that he was frustrated with his performance.
The MTTA representative Alex Anastasi was also interviewed on the incident by Reuters and said that Gerada’s action was just the result of his anger at having lost the match after having been 2-0 ahead.
Yet the Malta Olympic Committee surprised everyone with their prompt denial of any wrongdoing by Simon Gerada. In a statement, they said that the MOC’s high ranking officials who were attending the match, never witnessed the incident.
It is no surprise that they did not see the incident, especially if this did not occur in the playing hall, as one is led to believe.
Before issuing their statement, the MOC should have investigated the matter more intensively. If the reports about Gerada’s behaviour are found to be correct, whether or not he acted in anger as a result of his defeat, I think it is an insult to the nation just the same. Although Gerada is reported to have phoned Pippo Psaila to apologise for the incident, I believe a public apology from the player himself would be in place, apart from some form of disciplinary action: otherwise he should not be allowed to wear the Malta jersey again.
In all fairness, well before the MOC and its contingent left the island to participate in the Games, both the president, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, and the Director of Sport, Pippo Psaila, who was also the Chef de Mission in Melbourne, went on record saying that they would not tolerate any cheaters among their contingent.
Of course, they were referring to drug abuse by local athletes. And although this case has absolutely no connection with drug abuse or cheating, I consider it to be serious as well and it should be deeply investigated.