Although the draws for the Malta Football Association leagues were held last Monday, there are several clubs that do not yet know in which division they will be playing – simply because two cases of corruption involving Premier League clubs are still to be decided – a whole six months since they were uncovered.
“The show must go on,” MFA president Joe Mifsud said when the draws took place, but several clubs – the two accused of match-fixing allegations, Marsaxlokk and Vittoriosa, and other clubs that could benefit from any punitive action meted out – have had their season preparations hampered because of the delay in the administration of justice.
The Premier League is scheduled to start on 21 August – in less than five weeks – but it is not known whether the two cases would have been concluded by then, appeal and all. It seems that a decision on one case will be taken this week, but the club involved might appeal and such an eventuality would result in a further delay.
Considering that six months of investigations have, so far, failed to yield results, it would not be a surprise if the start of the Premier League will have to be postponed, sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
But what is worrying some clubs is that this procrastination has not allowed them to prepare for the coming season like they would have liked to. Playing in the Premier League is one thing, and playing in the First Division is another matter, they argue.
The cases
Marsaxlokk committee member Peter Hartshorne and midfielder Claude Mattocks pleaded guilty in the Law Courts of attempting to bribe a rival goalkeeper. They were sentenced to four months jail suspended for a year for trying to bribe Msida St Joseph keeper Matthew Camilleri. The Premier League match, played on 23 November, ended in a 1-1 draw.
Although the case has already been dealt with in court, and the two people involved admitted their guilt four months ago, the MFA is still to decide on the issue. Sporting justice is different from legal justice, and the MFA must hold its own investigation before pronouncing its own judgment.
In another case, Vittoriosa Stars Football Club vice-president Emanuel Ancilleri was charged in court with offering bribes to footballers from rival club St George’s for the 27 December First Division match. The match was replayed.
Mr Ancilleri, from Vittoriosa, denied trying to bribe another club’s players. The case is still being heard in court.
As in the previous case, the MFA is still to decide what action to take from the sporting point of view.
Possible punitive action
Marsaxlokk, who finished last season’s Premier League in fourth place, and Vittoriosa, who finished last season’s First Division in second place and was promoted to the Premier League, could be relegated to an inferior division, have points deducted or be fined, or else a combination of two of the above or all three.
If one or both clubs were relegated, this would mean that other clubs would have to take their place in the division they relinquish (in this case the Premier League). Clubs like Msida (relegated from the Premier league), Pieta (third in the First Division) and Rabat (relegated to the Second Division) could take their place.
The issues
Sources told The Malta Independent on Sunday they couldn’t understand why the MFA has dragged its feet for so long on these two cases. “When Qormi FC were involved in a similar case some years ago they were relegated to the Third Division – and the case was judged within eight weeks.
“This time, some months have passed, the season ended and a new one is about to start, yet we are still in the dark as to what will happen. It is a shame that the MFA speaks of a zero tolerance on corrupt practices, and then takes so long to decide on these issues. It is not a good example,” the sources said.
“Secondly, the coming league could be affected too because of this procrastination. Only a few weeks remain before the start of the premier league, and yet some clubs do not know in which division they will be playing. The draws that were made last Monday were a total farce, because they will need to be revised if one or both clubs are relegated. The MFA should have seen to it that the corruption cases are decided before the draws.”
The local sports media
The sources also said that the local sports media had not followed the issue as it should have. “When corruption cases happen abroad, the sports media of that country follow the cases day after day, insisting with the football association to deal with the issue quickly and report on developments that take place on a daily basis. They do not let go and will not take no for an answer.
“Here, local sports journalists are too afraid of the MFA, and particularly its president Joe Mifsud, to deal with the matter in a professional way. None of them investigated the issue, and the few questions that were asked were too timid. They never confronted Dr Mifsud with the issue and those who tried gave up too easily. Local sports journalists are too afraid that they will lose their free entry to the stadia if they criticise the MFA. In so doing, they are doing a disservice to their viewers and readers, and to Maltese football too.”
UEFA
The Malta Independent on Sunday tried to contact UEFA – of which the MFA is a member and in which Dr Mifsud holds the post of vice-president – to check whether it is normal for football corruption cases to take so long to be decided upon, but two separate e-mails sent on different days remained unanswered.
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