Malta were unexpectedly and belatedly bungled out of a semi-final place they had secured on the pitch when the Giudice Sportivo, commissioned by the organisers of the 'Torneo del Mediterraneo', upheld a protest lodged by Emilia Romagna following the 3-3 draw on Sunday.

This breach of the tournament regulations meant that Michael Striz's team lost the point which had earned them a berth in the last four of the competition held in Catania.

Malta presented a 15-man team list for that match instead of the allowed 12. This was after they were given a verbal go-ahead by the tournament organisers to do so in the previous match.

However, the irregular number in the line-up was brought to the attention of Malta's coach soon after the kick-off. Striz immediately eliminated three players from the bench.

Despite this, the protest was lodged, with the consequence that the result was aborted and a win awarded to Emilia Romagna.

It was a disappointing ending to what turned out to be a satisfactory first venture abroad by the Malta Futsal team.